On 5 August 2021, the Luxembourg insurance supervisory authority Commissariat aux Assurances ("CAA") adopted a new Circular Letter 21/15 on outsourcing to cloud computing service providers (the "Cloud Circular") that applies to CAA supervised insurance and reinsurance undertakings.More than a year ago, the CAA had already issued a circular letter (20/13) which merely informed of the full application by the CAA of the EIOPA Guidelines on outsourcing to cloud service providers (EIOPA-BoS-20-002) (the "Guidelines") and remembered (re-)insurance undertakings of their professional confidentiality ( insurance secrecy ) obligations. The new Cloud Circular adopts the Guidelines by setting them out in the text of the Cloud Circular and integrates certain additional requirements of the CAA in it. The additional requirements relate to the setting up of an information security function, local expertise and competencies, the content of contracts and the relat
ANTITRUST AND COMPETITION
The European Commission Consults on New EU Competition Rules for Distribution Agreements
The Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and its accompanying Vertical Guidelines (VGL) are designed to provide predictability to companies entering into supply and distribution agreements in Europe. Under the VBER, EU competition rules do not apply to vertical agreements entered into by companies with market shares not exceeding 30%. If the agreement contains so-called hardcore restrictions, i.e., a presumption of severe restriction of competition due to, for instance, illegal resale pricing restrictions or territory or customer allocation, then the VBER no longer applies but companies can still demonstrate that in their particular case the pro-competitive effects outweigh the negative effects.
Wednesday, February 3, 2021
The European Commission Consults on New EU Competition Rules for Distribution Agreements
The Vertical Block Exemption Regulation (VBER) and its accompanying Vertical Guidelines (VGL) are designed to provide predictability to companies entering into supply and distribution agreements in Europe. Under the VBER, EU competition rules do not apply to vertical agreements entered into by companies with market shares not exceeding 30%. If the agreement contains so-called hardcore restrictions, i.e., a presumption of severe restriction of competition due to, for instance, illegal resale pricing restrictions or territory or customer allocation, then the VBER no longer applies but companies can still demonstrate that in their particular case the pro-competitive effects outweigh the negative effects.
Preparation for entry into force of the Taxonomy
Regulation
Preparation for entry into force of periodic reporting
obligations and Level 2 Measures under the SFDR
The Cross Border Distribution Regulation sets down specific
conditions that all marketing communications addressed to investors
must comply with. These include an obligation to ensure that all
information contained in marketing communications is fair, clear
and not misleading and does not contradict or diminish the
significance of information contained in the fund prospectus. They
must also provide investors with a hyperlink to a summary of
investor rights. Marketing communications
18 will
also need to comply with ESMA s finalised guidelines on