Blockchain technology, somewhat an analogous landscape to that of search engines and e-commerce platforms in the 1990s, is giving rise to substantial Competition Law issues. The question is: are they mutually exclusive?

Following a strong mandate by the European Parliament’s plenary at the end of November, the new College of European Commissioners has now taken office. This transition comes at a crucially important moment for Europe, because addressing long-term challenges requires policy solutions taken today.

Traditionally tax compliance has always been a cumbersome process for both the taxpayers as well as tax collectors. In recent years, the international drive to address the issues of tax avoidance and fraud has led to an increase in compliance and reporting requirements which may be quite burdensome for taxpayers, especially in the case of smaller businesses.

Climate change is the defining challenge of this century. European citizens are increasingly voicing their disconcert and frustration at the current pace of change. On a global scale, last September saw six to seven million people, spanning 4,500 locations in 150 countries take to the streets in one of the largest coordinated global protests. The demand for change has never been higher.

Initial Exchange Offerings (IEOs) are currently one of the means of fundraising in the fintech industry. Exchanges play an important role in the growth of cryptocurrencies and IEOs have been one of the first alternatives to challenge Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).

Europe‘s prognosis for 2020 is set to face a cautious recession. Dire slowdowns of major European economies and heavy reliance upon austerity policy instruments post-2008 crisis have ultimately borne unsuccessful results -all point to a slow-down for the region.