A Unitary Patent System for Europe

 

The European Union (EU) member countries signed an agreement for establishing a Unified Patent Court (UPC).

 

The Unitary Patent system will make obtaining a European Patent less complex and cheaper while ensuring legal certainty throughout the entire single jurisdiction.

 

Read about UPC here and here.

 

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EU in the World

 28 November 2012

 

Eurostat published a report comparing demographic, economic and social trends among the G-20 members.

 

”The EU in the world 2013 – a statistical portrait” is available on the Eurostat website following the next link.

 

EU Adopts New Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP)

31 October 2012

 

The European Union (EU) has revised its scheme of Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) for imports from some developing countries. The changes will take effect from January 1, 2014.

 

For more details, please read the factsheet and presentation.

 

EU’s Single Market Act II Adopted

3 October 2012, Brussels

 

The European Commission has adopted Single Market Act II which include twelve key actions for rapid adoption by the EU institutions.

 

These actions are concentrated on four main drivers for growth, employment and confidence:

a)      Transport and energy networks

b)      Citizen and business mobility

c)      The digital economy

d)      Social entrepreneurship, cohesion and consumer confidence

 

For further information kindly check here and here.

More Trade News in Brief – Week 38 (10 – 16 September 2012)

* Liechtenstein & Germany – Tax Data Exchange

 

Liechtenstein and Germany are currently considering the idea of concluding a withholding tax agreement with an automatic exchange of tax information.

 

For more information please follow the link.

 

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* New Rules in the EU Standardisation System

 

The European Union (EU) prepare a new regulation modernising the EU Standardisation system and will also be better plugged into the international standardisation system.

 

The new rules enter into force on 1 January 2013 and will apply directly in all member states.

 

Kindly check here.

 

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* Equasis 2011 Annual Report published

 

“The world merchant fleet in 2011” has been published and is available for download.

 

Equasis is database containing safety-related information on the world’s merchant fleet from both public and private sources.

 

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* New ISO standard for eco-efficiency assessment

 

13 September 2012

 

The International Organization for Standardization  (ISO) published a new standard describing the principles, requirements and guidelines for eco-efficiency assessment for product systems.

 

ISO 14045:2012, Environmental management – Eco-efficiency assessment of product systems – Principles, requirements and guidelines is available through the ISO Store.

 

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* Singapore & Vietnam Sign DTA Protocol

 

12 September 2012

 

Singapore and Vietnam signed a protocol to amend the existing double taxation agreement (DTA) between the two countries.

 

For more, please check here.

 

European Union’s Agreements

* Algeria Delays Implementation of FTA with EU

 

Algeria has successfully asked for more time to fully lift tariff restrictions with the European Union (EU) under the new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) which entered into force on September 1, 2012.

 

Now, the EU-Algeria free trade agreement should be fully phased-in by 2020, and not by 2017.

 

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* ACP Group Urged To Conclude EPA Negotiations with EU

 

The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) aimed to conclude their negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU) this year.

 

EU Signs Treaty of Amity and Cooperation with ASEAN

12 July 2012, Phnom Penh

 

The European Union (EU) accedes to the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC) established by the founding members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

 

 

Logo European Union (EU)

 

Logo ASEAN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For further information please refer to the European Commission’s Press Release.

EU & Central America Signed a Comprehensive Association Agreement

29 June 2012, Tegucigalpa (Honduras)

 

The European Union (EU) and Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) signed a Comprehensive Association Agreement including an ambitious trade component and which will open up markets on both sides.

 

More here.

EU to Overhaul E-trust Law

4 June 2012, Brussels

 

The European Union (EU) proposed several e-signatures and e-identity rules and required independent supervisory bodies to evaluate e-trust, or verification technology, for e-signature and website authentication providers. The changes will make it possible that the electronic signatures from different EU member states to be read, recognised and accepted.

 

Kindly find more on the below links:

–          Digital Agenda: new Regulation to enable cross-border electronic signatures and to get more value out of electronic identification in Digital Single Market

–          Electronic identification, signatures and trust services: Questions & Answers