On 20 January 2025, France published a memorandum urging the EU to modify the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (Directive 2022/2464, “CSRD”), and to postpone the application of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (Directive 2024/1760, “CS3D”). France’s statements resonate with the series of Executive Orders aiming in the U.S. at various markets deregulations, although to a lesser degree.Continue Reading Corporate Sustainability Obligations in the EU: France Urges the EU To Postpone the Application of Adopted EU Directives

In a bold move to tighten its sanctions enforcement, the EU rolled out Directive 2024/1226, establishing minimum rules for defining criminal offenses and penalties related to the violation of EU sanctions. Effective May 19, the Directive mandates Member States to incorporate its provisions into their national legislation within 12 months.Continue Reading Walking the Tightrope: EU’s Sanctions Enforcement Directive Puts Violators on Notice

Imagine telling your company’s Board of Directors that the company will have to knowingly violate the law. Further, you might note, the American Law Institute’s Principles of Corporate Governance state that, with very limited exceptions, a director who knowingly causes the corporation to disobey the law violates his duty of care. The protections of the Business Judgement Rule may not be available to a board member who, charged with navigating the Scylla and Charybdis of a conflict of laws, steers right into the shoals of noncompliance.

Beginning August 6, that will be the situation facing the thousands of companies that are subject to U.S. sanctions on Iran and to EU regulations blocking those sanctions. While it appears to be a stark choice, some nuances to the regulations may make navigating the narrow straights of the conflict of laws a less Odyssean and more practically manageable.
Continue Reading Stuck in the Middle With You: EU Blocking Statutes, Iran Sanctions, and the Thousands of Businesses Caught In Between