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8-12/2008
Alessandra Fratini and Gaia Pandolfi advise the ASEAN Secretariat on the development of Regional Guidelines for Competition Policy in ASEAN
Between August and December 2008, Alessandra and Gaia have advised the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia, for the development of Regional Guidelines for Competition Policy in the ASEAN region. The project aimed at facilitating the ongoing process of economic integration among ASEAN Member States through supporting an enhanced competition regulation in the region.
Between the end of October and early November Alessandra held consultation meetings with the competent officials of the ASEAN Secretariat and of some ASEAN Member States (i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) to identify and discuss the specific issues of greatest concern to the region. On 12th of December, Alessandra gave the final presentation on the draft Regional Guidelines for Competition Policy to the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.
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11/12/2008
Paolo Vergano speaks at conference at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on “Towards a Rules-based Community: Does the Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism of ASEAN Need Further Enhancement?"
Between 8 and 11 December 2008, Paolo Vergano speaks at conference at the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on “Towards a Rules-based Community: Does the Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism of ASEAN Need Further Enhancement?” and will advise ASEAN on dispute settlement procedures.
Since April 2008, Paolo and Professor Peter Van den Bossche of the University of Maastricht have been advising the Agreements and Compliance Unit of the ASEAN Secretariat on a wealth of legal issues related to the ASEAN Dispute Settlement Mechanism, holding first a number of regional workshops to develop the skills of ASEAN Member States’ officials in charge of dispute settlement (project sponsored by the EC Commission’s APRIS Program) and then conducting a detailed study to propose amendments for a Revised and Improved DSM Protocol to be considered for adoption by ASEAN Member States (project sponsored by the Asian Development Bank)
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8-11/2008
Paolo Vergano and Eugenia Laurenza advise the ASEAN Secretariat on the negotiation of competition clauses in FTA Agreements
Between August and November 2008, Paolo and Eugenia have advised the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta, Indonesia on the negotiation of trade and competition chapters under FTAs, RTAs and bilateral trade agreements. In particular, the project focused on the review of the trade and competition clauses of several FTAs between the EC and third countries in order to propose models and best negotiating practices for ASEAN to use during current and future negotiations.
During the week of the 17th of November, Paolo held dedicated meetings with various units and officials of the ASEAN Secretariat in order to define with them a negotiating strategy to be submitted to ASEAN Member States and used in the ongoing negotiations.
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5-6-7/11/2008
Fabio Filpo participated in the Pro Actin II training project in Sofia
On 5, 6 and 7 November 2008, Fabio participated in the Pro Actin II project in Sofia, aimed at training new and acceding EU Member State’s Public Postal Operators in EU law and regulation. Fabio contributed with speeches on Universal Service Obligations (USOs) under the new Postal Directive, State Aid for the compensation of the USOs cost and Public Procurement Law.
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8-11/2008
Paolo Vergano, Ignacio Carreno and Eugenia Laurenza advise four Pacific Countries (i.e., Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu) and the International Executive Kava Council on legal issues related to kava trade
Between August and November 2008, FratiniVergano advised four Pacific Countries (i.e., Fiji, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu) and the International Executive Kava Council (IKEC) on a number of legal issues related to kava trade and to the German measures withdrawing the market authorizations for kava-based medicinal products, which resulted in a de-facto trade ban by the EC vis-à-vis kava-based products from the Pacific since 2001.
Together with Dr. Mathias Schmidt of Herbresearch Germany (i.e., the scientific expert advising IKEC on scientific and pharmacological issues) Paolo, Ignacio and Eugenia analyzed the German, EC and WTO consistency of a number of European countries’ measures prohibiting the importation and marketability into the EC of kava and kava-based products from Pacific Islands. They recommended a number of legal avenues (i.e., EC/ACP negotiating tools, German initiatives, EC procedures and WTO remedies) and commercial strategies to overcome the “ban” which is damaging Pacific Countries’ economies in excess of 200 Million USD a year.
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17/10/2008
Andrea Carta speaks at the Intermediate Meeting Stage of the Federation of European Bars, Torquay (UK)
On 17 October 2008, Andrea gave a presentation at the Intermediate Meeting Stage of the Federation of the European Bars in Torquay (UK). The presentation illustrated the legislative framework applicable to professional structures for lawyers in Italy, against the background of the core ethical principles of the legal profession.
Andrea’s presentation was part of a wider discussion around the reforms of the profession taking place in Europe. Colleagues from England and Wales, Romania, Czech Republic, Spain, Switzerland and Germany introduced the legislations of their home countries on law firms and “alternative business structures” with a view to examine and compare the relations between deontology and organization of the profession.
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17/6/2008
Alessandra Fratini speaks at 3g Radio Networks Conference in Prague
On 17 June 2008, Alessandra spoke at IIR’s “Optimising and Evolving 3G Radio Networks” conference in Prague. She contributed to a panel session on the re-farming of 900 MHz spectrum for UMTS and addressed the legal and regulatory challenges of UMTS900 deployment in Europe.
She highlighted that, while a repeal of the 1987 GSM Directive would allow overcoming the present limitation of spectrum usage to GSM, it should be complemented by appropriate technical harmonization measures to preserve the present harmonized status of the band and to guarantee the protection of the GSM services currently using it.
See brochure of the conference
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10-17/6/2008
Alessandra Fratini and Gaia Pandolfi teach at Universita’ Tor Vergata in Rome
On 10 and 17 June 2008, Alessandra and Gaia lecture on postal services regulation and competition at Tor Vergata University in Rome. The lectures, which are part of the Master in Antitrust and Market Regulation, cover the EC-driven liberalisation process and related competition issues in the postal sector.
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4/6/2008
Alessandra Fratini speaks at 2008 Power-Gen Europe
On 4 June 2008 Alessandra speaks about the impact of ownership unbundling at the "European market issues" session of 2008 Power-Gen Europe in Milan (Italy). The international conference is organised by PennWell Corporation. The presentation discusses the proposals for network unbundling in the Commission Energy Package, together with the solutions emerging from the legislative process. The conference programme is available at http://pge08.events.pennnet.com.
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31/5/2008
Alessandra Fratini presents a paper at CRRI 16th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics
On 31 May 2008 Alessandra presents a paper on EU Postal Services and Public Procurement Law at the 16th Conference on Postal and Delivery Economics in Albufeira (Portugal). The international conference is held by the CRRI (Center for Research in Regulated Industries) of the Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick (US). The conference programme is available on http://www.crri.rutgers.edu/references/post/PC08.pdf
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21/5/2008
Alessandra Fratini at World Mail & Express Conference in Budapest
On 21 May 2008, Alessandra chairs a session at Triangle’s World Mail & Express Conference in Budapest (“Redefining Mail and Express – becoming more responsive and relevant”). The session is entitled “Creative more responsive organizations” and covers the challenges facing global mail operators, refocusing their business against the background of progressing liberalization.
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9/5/2008
Eugenia Laurenza lectured at Universitat de Lleida ON EC Food Labelling Law and Traceability
On 9 May 2008, Eugenia held a course at the Universitat de Lleida in Catalonia, Spain on EC food labelling law and traceability. The course is part of the second edition of the Master in Agrifood Law organised by the Universitat de Lleida with the collaboration of the Generalitat (Departament d’Agricultura, Ramaderia I Pesca), the regional Government of Catalonia. Eugenia's lecture focussed on the general EC food labelling directives and on some specific labelling rules, such as for nutritional labelling, health claims and rules for GMOs. Furthermore she discussed case law of the European Court of Justice on food labelling matters. The second part of the course dealt with the EC traceability rules established in the General Food Law Regulation 178/2002/EC, the Food Hygiene Regulation 852/2004/EC and in some specific Regulations (such as for beef and GMOs). Finally she looked into some national rules on traceability.
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21/4/2008
Andrea Carta speaks at the University of Florence
On 21 April 2008, Andrea gave a presentation on the activities of lawyers in Brussels. The purpose of the presentation was to give undergraduate students an overview on professional opportunities for lawyers in the capital of the EU. Andrea explained the role of lawyers in antitrust and other administrative procedures and in the EU decision-making process. He discussed the main issues related to the role of lawyers as “interest representatives” and the implication of the EP’s “Stubb Report”. The lecture was part of the course of EU law chaired by Professor Vincenzo Vigoriti.
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Alessandra Fratini and Andrea Carta publish an article on “Content Online and fight against piracy” on online journal “Teutas”.
The article describes the most recent EC policy initiatives on content online together with some national developments in the field of copyright protection.
Teutas is an online journal specializing in law and technology issues (www.teutas.it).
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14/3/2008
Andrea Carta speaks on the Draft IPR Enforcement Directive at the DBF seminar on “Intellectual property in Europe”
On 14 March 2008, Andrea gave a presentation at the seminar on “Intellectual property in Europe” organized by the Délégation des Barreaux de France (the Brussels-based representation of the French Bar). The presentation focused on the Commission’s draft for an EC Directive on “criminal measures aimed at ensuring the enforcement of intellectual property rights”, highlighting the main aspects of the proposed measure and the issues raised during the 1st reading by the EP.
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29/1/2008
Alessandra Fratini speaks at IIR's 14th International Interconnection Forum in Amsterdam
On 29 January 2008, Alessandra speaks at IIR's 14th International Interconnection Forum in Amsterdam on IP Interconnection. Alessandra focuses on how to apply the existing regulatory framework to the evolution caused by technological progress towards Next Generation Networks (NGNs), and addresses the regulatory implications and challenges related to IP Interconnection and ENUM.
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14-15/1/2008
Paolo R. Vergano teaches at the World Trade Institute in Bern
On 14-15 January 2008, Paolo held his yearly course on “Tariffs, Quantitative Restrictions and Voluntary Export Restraints” at the World Trade Institute (WTI) in Bern, Switzerland. The course is part of the Master’s on International Law and Economics (MILE) offered by the WTI and focuses on the regulation, negotiation and administration of tariffs and non tariff-barriers in the WTO system.
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