Insights

On June 20, 2023, the European Commission and the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy published a Joint Communication on the European Economic Security Strategy. The Strategy was adopted to reduce risks to the European Union’s economic security amid rising geopolitical tensions and rapid technological changes. The Strategy is structured according to a three-pillar approach: promoting competitiveness, protecting against risks and partnering with like-minded countries.

On March 13, 2024, the EU legislators reached a provisional agreement on the content of the regulation prohibiting products made with forced labour (“the FL Regulation”). This piece of legislation is part of a series of proposed directives addressing human rights in supply chains which also incorporates recent European ESG efforts (CSRD, CBAM, Regulation against deforestation).

A number of important Belgian and EU legislative changes are likely to have an impact in 2024. On the one hand, there are new laws that have been adopted and will start to bite, and, on the other, there are proposals that are expected to firm up into law.