European Union: Corporate Governance

Malta's Companies Act now addresses usufruct over shares through Article 117A, but significant gaps remain in disclosure requirements and exit procedures. This analysis examines how the new provision allocates voting rights and dividends between bare owners and usufructuaries, while highlighting critical uncertainties that affect family business succession planning and third-party transactions.

Italy's new Legislative Decree No. 160/2026 fundamentally reshapes the legal landscape for artificial intelligence systems by introducing criminal liability for security failures and expanding corporate responsibility under the 231 framework. The legislation establishes strict requirements for high-risk AI systems while imposing significant penalties on organizations that fail to implement adequate technical safeguards and human oversight mechanisms. How will businesses need to restructure their AI governan

The European Commission's new Guidelines on exclusionary abuses of dominance under Article 102 TFEU provide companies with a comprehensive framework for assessing their market position and commercial conduct. These Guidelines consolidate decades of case law and enforcement practice, offering businesses a structured approach to evaluate dominance, understand how different types of conduct will be analyzed, and identify the evidence that matters when commercial strategies come under scrutiny.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is advancing the Charities (Amendment) Bill, which introduces significant regulatory changes for charities operating in the jurisdiction. The legislation grants the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland expanded enforcement powers, overhauls accounting and reporting frameworks based on charity size, and clarifies the status of cross-border charitable organizations.

Luxembourg has strengthened its enforcement framework for the Register of Beneficial Owners and Trade and Companies Register, granting the Luxembourg Business Registers new administrative powers to monitor compliance and impose sanctions. Starting September 2026, entities with incomplete or inaccurate filings may face progressive penalties including daily fines, administrative deregistration, and potential dissolution.

A foreign company establishing a permanent presence in Cyprus will usually consider either registering a branch or incorporating a Cyprus subsidiary. Both structures permit business to be carried on from Cyprus, but they are legally different. A branch remains part of the foreign company, while a subsidiary is a separate Cyprus company even if the foreign parent owns all of its shares.

¿Puede el registrador mercantil nombrar un experto independiente para valorar participaciones cuando existe controversia sobre la existencia del derecho de separación de un socio? El Tribunal Supremo delimita las competencias del registrador en estos procedimientos y establece cuándo debe suspenderse su actuación.

German corporate group law grapples with a fundamental tension: reconciling the economic interests of a corporate group as a unified entity with the legal principle that each group company operates as an independent legal entity with distinct interests.

The Central Bank of Ireland's thematic assessment of the Fitness and Probity regime within the MiFID investment firm sector reveals critical gaps in governance documentation and evidence. Firms are struggling to demonstrate adequate due diligence processes, policy implementation, and Management Responsibility Map compliance. Can your organization withstand regulatory scrutiny of its F&P framework?