June 2019
Belgian offshore wind energy
On 4 April 2019, the Belgian Parliament adopted a law which establishes the general principles of the competitive bidding procedure (concurrerende inschrijvingsprocedure) for the realisation of new renewable energy projects in the North Sea, such as it is also the case in the neighbouring countries and in accordance with the European state aid rules. By choosing a competitive bidding procedure as a basis for the granting of domain concessions in the North Sea, the following four objectives were established to be realized by 2030 (cf. explanatory memorandum : https://www.dekamer.be/FLWB/PDF/54/3581/54K3581001.pdf ): 1. additional renewable energy capacity (at least 1,75 GW); 2. a maximum of energy [...]
Second chance for entrepreneurs: new rules on corporate insolvency
On 6 June 2019, the European Council approved the Directive on preventive restructuring systems, debt cancellation and professional prohibitions, as well as measures to improve the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and debt cancellation proceedings. The general objective of the Directive is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to remove obstacles to the exercise of fundamental freedoms, such as the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment, resulting from differences between Member States in restructuring and insolvency regimes. In addition, the objective is also to promote a "rescue culture" within the European Union based on the principle of [...]
Creation of an electronic database accessible to the public on judgments and decisions
The Law amending the Code of Criminal Investigation and the Judicial Code with regard to the publication of judgments and rulings was published on 16 May 2019. The main innovation: the creation of an electronic database of judgments and court decisions accessible to the public. Namely that the data allowing the identification of the parties involved in the case will of course be scrupulously omitted. However, the Law of 5 May 2019 only enters into force on a date to be determined by the King and no later than 1 September 2020. The modalities of this database will also have to be defined by [...]