Making Financial Services More Accessible
On 17 April 2019, the EU legislator adopted Directive 2019/882 on the accessibility requirements for products and services (the “Accessibility Act”) to establish common accessibility requirements for certain key products and services across the EEA. The aim of that directive is to improve access for persons with disabilities by addressing inconsistencies in national accessibility rules. […]
Payment of Consumers’ Debts Owed to Undertakings
Book XIX of the Code of Economic Law (“CEL“) relates to consumers’ debts. It came into force on 1 September 2023. This two-year-old reform remains relatively unknown, and its significant scope and consequences are often underestimated. We examine below the provisions of the CEL, Book XII, Title 1, related to the payment of debts owed […]
Trends in payment fraud in Belgium
In recent years, cases of payment fraud have seen a steady increase in Belgium, with the FSMA reporting that in 2024 it received 20% more reports of fraud-related activities compared to 2023. It also reported that 2024 marked the year in which the FSMA received the highest number of reports to date. Once fraud is […]
Boundaries of AI: EU Commission Guidance
INTRODUCTION Following the entry into application of Chapter II of Regulation (EU) 2024/168 (the “AI Act”) on 2 February 2025, the European Commission has published guidelines (the “EC guidelines”) aiming at ensuring consistent, effective and uniform interpretation of the rules on AI practices that are deemed unacceptable due to their potential risks to European values […]
EU Listing Act | Key Changes to the Market Abuse Regulation
I. Introduction: EU Listing Act Package On 8 October 2024, the Council of the European Union adopted the Listing Act, a legislative initiative designed to enhance the attractiveness and accessibility of EU public capital markets, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (“SMEs”), with the overarching objective of making these markets more attractive to both issuers […]
Dismissal of Prevention Advisors | Formal Designation Not Required for Legal Protection
In a landmark decision dated 18 November 20241, the Belgian Supreme Court (Cour de cassation/Hof van Cassatie) ruled that the absence of a formal designation does not exclude an employee from the legal protection granted to prevention advisors. As long as the employee effectively carries out tasks associated with this role, they are entitled to […]
Brussels Introduces Mandatory Rent Caps as of 1 May 2025
On 1 May 2025, the Brussels’ Ordinance of 10 April 2025 (the “Ordinance of 10 April 2025”) “organising the entry into force of articles 8-13 of the Ordinance of 28 October 2021 (the “Ordinance of 28 October 2021”) creating a joint rental commission and combatting excessive rents” entered into force. The Ordinance of 28 October […]
Marchés publics : l’agréation peut reposer sur une entité tierce
Dans un arrêt du 31 janvier 2025 (n° 262.195), le Conseil d’État a confirmé qu’un opérateur économique peut valablement s’appuyer sur les capacités techniques et professionnelles d’une entité tierce afin de satisfaire à une exigence d’agréation, pour autant que celle-ci soit présentée dans le cahier des charges comme un critère de sélection relatif aux capacités […]
EU General Court confirms invalidity of KnitPro’s chevron mark for lack of distinctive character
In its recent judgment of 21 May 2025 in case T-133/24 (KnitPro International v EUIPO and 135 Kirkstall, Inc.), the General Court of the European Union concludes a long-running legal dispute spanning more than a decade over the registrability as an EU trade mark of a geometric pattern composed of chevrons and parallel lines, applied […]
Exclusive distribution & EU competition law – CJEU clarifies parallel imposition requirement
In its judgment of 8 May 2025 (Beevers Kaas, C-581/23), the CJEU clarified one of the requirements for an exclusive distribution agreement to be exempted from the general prohibition of anti-competitive agreements under the EU Commission Regulation No 330/2010 on vertical agreements (in force until 31 May 2022, and applicable in the proceedings before the […]
Easing the Path from Prototype to Product | EU General Court Clarifies Design Grace Period
In its recent judgment of 12 March 2025 in case T-66/24, Lidl Vertriebs GmbH & Co. KG v EUIPO and Liquidleds Lighting Corp., the General Court of the European Union delivered significant clarification on the scope and application of the “grace period” in EU design law under Article 7(2) of EU Regulation No. 6/2002 on […]
Leveraged distribution | Positive case-law on the deductibility of interest
Recent case-law of the Court of Appeal of Ghent marks a positive evolution in the deductibility of interest on loans taken out to finance a dividend distribution or capital decrease. This situation is commonly referred to as a leveraged distribution, and it is a topical issue in Belgian corporate income tax. After prior case-law which […]