The Matheson Summer 2024 Horizon Tracker has been distributed to our clients this week. In recent editions we have planned a publication date near to the end of the domestic legislative session so that we can document progress on legislation listed in the Government Legislation Plan, in this case the plan published in April for Summer 2024. Reflecting this timing we also cover legislative and regulatory developments from the EU, in addition to regulatory initiatives from significant regulators such as the Central Bank.
Following the European elections we have seen a shift to the right politically in key member states with early elections called by President Macron in France, a political move to the right in Germany and an increase in support for the Brothers of Italy party led by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Moroni. Whilst gains have been made by right wing parties in the European Parliament, the shift has not been so pronounced. Nevertheless, effects are expected and the question in our minds is to what extent this will affect policy and legislation at EU level. As Prime Minister Georgia Moroni objects to a lack of consultation by centrist supporters of the current President of the European Commission, the question of whether Ursula Von der Leyen will succeed in her bid for a second term is as yet (27 June 202) unresolved. More importantly while the support of Italy is not necessary for the President to be re-elected, unanimous support is required for the Strategic Agenda of the Commission for the coming period of office. Similarly the final composition of the Commission is unclear. Areas where we might see the impact of the political shift will be on sustainability matters, climate change mitigation and adaptation measures, and specifically matters driven by the European Green Deal. The latter is particularly important regarding our Financial Services practice areas where in Asset Management and Funds, Finance and Capital Markets and Financial Services Regulation you will find a consideration of a range of regulatory initiatives including those relating to Sustainable Finance. These include SFDR amendments under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and the planned Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, (both considered in our Corporate section) the ESMA's consultation on Funds names using ESG or sustainability related terms and further Commission Consultation on sustainable finance disclosures. Staying with finance matters our Tax practice assesses the progress of negotiations amongst jurisdictions included in the OCED Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("BEPS") Framework and anticipates the expected EU legislative response, including the possibility of an EU directive implementing OECD Pillar One. In relation to European affairs, more broadly speaking, an additional effect may arise in the European sphere where an impetus for institutional reform in anticipation of further enlargement to include Ukraine and other states may stall. In short we may see less political impetus behind certain legal measures but it is early days. Our Tracker highlights where EU legal and regulatory developments currently stand.
Domestically the picture is more stable and we have seen significant legislative progress described by our Commercial Real Estate, Employment, Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolutions and Corporate practice areas.
As this has been a period of post-election scrutiny and as we look forward to domestic elections in 2025 the summary from the Government in its Summer Legislation Programme of Bills enacted since it came to office in April 2020 is worth considering both as a review of issues which have been addressed and as a signal towards matters which continue to be top of the legislative agenda. The breadth of legislative initiatives ranging from measures to address immediate problems such as COVID, to legislation on finance matters, planning and development, including marine area planning, administration of justice and consumer protection in relation to the provision of financial services and online safety and privacy is impressive. Other than once off emergency matters, many of these topics continue to be the focus of ongoing legislative initiatives and policies. Assessing the legislative agenda domestically we have considered all relevant ongoing initiatives in our Summer 2024 Tracker. Relevance to our clients is important and so we focus on specific domestic and EU legislation and both domestic and EU regulatory initiatives which we consider to be of primary importance. The Tracker includes links to all available primary texts and consultations. It also includes commentary and analysis with further links to additional Matheson Insights and to Matheson Knowledge Hub.
For further information please consult the Summer 2024 Edition of the Matheson Horizon Tracker.
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