EU launches investigation into Microsoft’s bundling of Office and Teams after Slack complaint July 27, 2023 The European Union will investigate Microsoft over its bundling of Office and Teams. Thursday’s announcement comes amid fears the packaging of productivity software Office with messaging and videoconferencing app Teams gives the tech giant an unfair edge over competitors. The 27-nation bloc’s top competition enforcer, the European Commission, said it will carry out the probe [...]
Europe capitalising on UK’s ‘tourism tax’ as retailers call for overhaul May 24, 2023 International tourists are spending more in Europe than in the UK as Britain’s retail sector continues to be hamstrung by the government’s decision to scrap VAT-free shopping, members of the House of Lords warned yesterday.
EU remains firm on post-Brexit clearing plans despite pressure on both sides of the Channel May 24, 2023 The EU is set to reject calls to rethink its approach to the clearing business despite mounting pressure on both sides of the Channel. The EU’s financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness said the plans were vital to the EU’s “financial resilience”. “I want to underline that this matter is actually not so much about Brexit. [...]
Non-compete clauses slashed as ministers begin post-Brexit regulatory changes May 10, 2023 Non-compete clauses will be slashed to three months in a bid to boost competition between employers, ministers announced today, as a key EU ‘sunset’ clause is ditched. It comes as part of a move by the government to scrap its own plans for thousands of EU laws to automatically expire at the end of the [...]
Vestager: AI law on the way – but it might take a year April 30, 2023 The European Union is likely to reach a political agreement this year that will pave the way for the world’s first major artificial intelligence (AI) law, the bloc’s tech regulation chief Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday. This follows a preliminary deal reached on Thursday by members of the European Parliament to push through the draft of the [...]
UK must change post-Brexit visa rules to help firms with labour shortages, report says April 29, 2023 The UK government needs to change post-Brexit visa rules in order to help firms overcome worsening labour shortages, UK lawmakers have said in a new report. The complexity of visa regulations in the wake of Britain exiting the EU has proved a “significant barrier to mobility”, a report by the House of Lords European Affairs [...]
Brexit deal DONE: Sunak’s Windsor Framework signed off as UK and EU look for better relationship March 24, 2023 Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal for Northern Ireland has been formally signed off at a meeting in London, as both the UK and the EU hope for better relations. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the European Commission’s Maros Sefcovic chaired a meeting on Friday to adopt the new arrangements for Northern Ireland, after the Government won [...]
Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal passes despite 22 Tory MPs rebelling including Johnson, Patel, Truss and IDS March 22, 2023 MPs have voted in favour of regulations to implement the Stormont brake aspect of Rishi Sunak’s Windsor Framework Brexit deal by 515 votes to 29. The prime minister’s agreement with the EU on a revised plan for post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland (NI) was backed by a majority of 486 MPs in the House of [...]
Tory rebellion grows as Liz Truss, Priti Patel and Iain Duncan Smith to REJECT Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal March 22, 2023 Rishi Sunak is facing down a growing mutiny on his backbenches as Liz Truss, Priti Patel and Sir Iain Duncan Smith are all set to vote against his Brexit deal for Northern Ireland. The former prime minister, ex-home secretary and previous Tory leader have said they will not support Sunak’s agreement negiotiated with the EU [...]
Brexiteer Tories waver on support for Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal March 21, 2023 A key group of Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs are yet to say whether they will vote for Rishi Sunak’s Brexit deal. Parliament will vote tomorrow on the so-called Stormont brake – a key part of the prime minister’s Windsor Framework agreement that would allow the Northern Ireland Assembly to reject new incoming EU rules. European Research [...]