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Europe recalibrates: AI copyright and GDPR scope under pressure
Two parallel developments suggest that Europe is drawing clearer boundaries around both AI ownership and data protection. One comes from the Council and the other from a German court, and both signal a more cautious approach toward redefining legal fundamentals in the name of innovation or administrative simplification. 1. Digital omnibus leak: Member States cut the core of the proposed GDPR reform A leaked Council compromise draft removes entirely the proposed redefinition of “personal data” under the GDPR, and that alone underscores how controversial the Digital Omnibus has become. What happened? In November 2025, the European Commission launched the Digital Omnibus, with one of its central ambitions
Europe’s AI rulebook is taking shape, but the technology is not waiting
Artificial intelligence is entering a decisive phase in Europe. Despite the EU’s ambitious AI Act framework, key guidance remains pending while enforcement scrutiny intensifies and AI adoption accelerates. 1. EU AI Act: a strict framework struggling to keep pace While Europe’s ambition to regulate AI is unquestioned, recent developments signal that the legal framework is struggling to keep pace with both the rapid evolution of the technology and its own aspirations. 1.1. Missed Guidance and Growing Uncertainty The European Commission missed a key deadline on 2 February, when it failed to publish a comprehensive list of use cases to help businesses distinguish between high-risk and non-high-risk
Digital Product Passports: The regulatory shift fashion brands need to plan for
Fashion and luxury brands selling into the EU should prepare for a regulatory shift that will directly affect how products are documented, traced and placed on the market. Regulatory work is now intensifying on implementing measures, including the rollout of Digital Product Passports (DPPs). DPPs are becoming a central instrument in the EU’s strategy to advance circularity, transparency and sustainability. For the fashion industry, DPPs represent not only a compliance obligation, but a shift in how product data and supply chains are managed. DPPs as a new regulatory standard A Digital Product Passport will function as a product’s digital identity, containing information on origin, material composition
EU Pay Transparency Directive: CEE transposition status
The EU Pay Transparency Directive marks a significant shift in how organisations approach pay equity and transparency. Its core objective is to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work and work of equal value. EU Member States must transpose the Directive into national law by 7 June 2026, which means the clock is ticking for employers to prepare. Our Employment & Labour Law team prepared an overview summarising the transposition status of the Directive in the CEE as of January 2026. Click on the image below or use this link to read our overview in English.
New pressure, new delays: the EU’s double move on AI
Europe has just introduced two significant developments that will directly affect how companies build, deploy, and oversee AI in 2026. One strengthens reporting. The other reshapes key compliance deadlines. 1. The AI act whistleblower tool is live—and it changes the game The EU’s new AI Act Whistleblower Tool is officially online, allowing any individual professionally connected to an AI model provider to flag risky or unlawful practices linked to general-purpose AI models and certain regulated AI systems. Reports can be submitted anonymously, in any EU language together with supporting documents via a secure inbox that also supports follow-up questions. While the AI Office will maintain strict
Kinstellar is ranked among the world’s leading investigations practices in GIR 100 2025
Kinstellar is honoured to be featured in this year’s GIR 100, the annual guide that recognises the top 100 law firms worldwide for cross-border and local corporate investigations. The GIR 100, published by Global Investigations Review, highlights firms with strong capabilities in government-led and internal investigations. Each firm is selected based on in-depth editorial research demonstrating its ability to handle complex cross-border, government-led and internal investigations. This year’s guide highlights Kinstellar’s experience advising multinational companies, financial institutions, and global law firms on a wide range of investigations, including internal reviews, whistleblower matters, export-control
EU FDI Screening: Insights from the Commission’s 5th Annual Report and what they mean for CEE
The European Commission published its fifth annual report on the screening of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the EU accompanied by a Staff Working Document. The report covers developments during 2024 and provides an overview of FDI screening across the EU, the evolution of national screening mechanisms, and emerging investment trends highlighting both the EU’s ongoing openness to foreign investors and its efforts to strengthen safeguards for security and public order. While the EU-27 continued to attract significant investment FDI inflows slowed in 2023 and 2024 due to a decline in greenfield investments, even as mergers and acquisitions began to recover unevenly across Member States and sectors. By the end of
Guidance notes on the new General Register of Employee Records in Romania
Starting 1 October 2025, the use of the REGES-Online platform will become mandatory for all employers in Romania. This obligation is provided for in Government Decision No. 295/2025, which establishes a transition period until 30 September 2025, during which employers can choose to use either REGES-Online or the old Revisal system. The new digital portal will ensure the electronic management of individual employment contracts by employers and authorised service providers through a digital platform managed by the Labour Inspectorate. As the transition process involves creating accounts, accessing registers, and filling in the necessary data, we recommend that employers implement the new system as soon as possible.
EU adopts 18th sanctions package against Russia
On July 18, the European Council adopted its 18th sanctions package to be imposed on Russia for its continued war in Ukraine. The sanctions are mainly aimed at entities and activities concerning the military, energy, and banking sectors. The package also includes efforts to provide protection for Member States against investment arbitration and additional measures against the circumvention of the sanctions in place. We summarize the key issues touched on by the new amendments below. Military sanctions Measures aimed at the Russian military industrial complex and its suppliers include tighter export restrictions on certain dual-use goods and technologies for 26 new entities, 11 of which are located
Kinstellar Capital Markets series: Ad-hoc disclosure regime under the EU Listing Act
The EU Listing Act introduces significant changes to the capital markets framework, including a revision of the ad-hoc disclosure rules under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). These changes are particularly relevant for protracted processes such as M&A transactions, restructurings and other multi-stage corporate events. Under the new regime, issuers will generally be required to publish an ad-hoc disclosure only once the final event of a protracted process occurs. Intermediate steps no longer need to be disclosed individually, reducing the risk of premature market announcements and increasing overall legal certainty. However, the regime does not introduce a safe harbour. Each intermediate step must still be assessed
ESG legal update: Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia regions (Q2 2025)
Our ESG Legal Update provides a snapshot of recent regulatory developments across Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with input from Kinstellar’s ESG Service Line members. Several cross-border trends emerge. The transposition of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) remains ongoing in many jurisdictions, often delayed or adapted in response to recent EU-level changes. In parallel, regulators in multiple countries—such as Austria, the Czech Republic, Turkey, and Ukraine—are strengthening ESG risk management requirements in the financial sector. There is also a clear push toward more robust environmental compliance and
European Commission guidance letter on licensing standard essential patents by the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group
The European Commission issued an informal guidance letter to the Automotive Licensing Negotiation Group (ALNG), marking the first application of the Informal Guidance Notice allowing for undertakings to approach the Commission with novel or unresolved issues concerning European competition law. Licensing Negotiation Groups (LNGs) are a novel form of agreement and share certain characteristics with joint purchasing agreements – only that they aim at licensing intellectual property rights instead of purchasing goods or services. ALNG, formed by BMW, Volkswagen, ThyssenKrupp and Mercedes-Benz, is the first of its kind in the EU, aimed at licensing standard essential patents (SEPs), which are patents that are required to