The European Commission adopted the Decision setting up a Financial Services User Group on 20 July 2010 (2010/C 199/02) to ensure proportionate user representation and expertise at all stages of the development of its policy on financial services.
FRENCH
Fiche thématique (finance) : La Commission européenne établit un groupe des utilisateurs des services financiers afin de faire une plus grande place aux opinions des utilisateurs dans le processus décisionnel européen
La Commission européenne a adopté la décision établissant un groupe des utilisateurs des services financiers le 20 juillet 2010 (2010/C 199/02) afin d'assurer une représentation proportionnelle des usagers et de profiter de leur point de vue à chaque stade du développement de sa politique envers les services financiers.
GERMAN
Thematischer Bericht (Finanz): Die Europäische Kommission hat eine neue Gruppe für Nutzer von Finanzdienstleistungen (FSUG) eingesetzt, um die Vertretung der Nutzer im EU politischen Entscheidungsführungsprozess sicherzustellen.
Die Europäische Kommission hat in einer Beschluss vom 20. Juli 2010 (2010/C199/02) die Einsetzeung einer Nutzergruppe "Finanzdienstleistungen" angenommen. Diese Gruppe soll einer angemessenen Vertretung der Nutzer in allen Phasen der Ausarbeitung der Politik der Kommission im Bereich Finanzdienstleistungen gewährleisten.
ITALIAN
Finanza: La Commissione europea ha approvato un Gruppo per gli utenti dei servizi finanziari per rafforzare la loro voce in capitolo nel processo decisionale dell’Unione europea.
Il 20 luglio 2010 la Commissione europea ha adottato la decisione (2010/C 199/02) che prevede un Gruppo per gli utenti dei servizi finanziari al fine di assicurare una rappresentazione degli stessi e considerazione della loro competenza in ogni stadio dello sviluppo della sua politica in materia di servizi finanziari.
The implementation of a common repertory of information on Social Security tax payments provides the opportunity to gather real-time information on a vast majority of taxpayers, but is highly criticized for its possible violation of privacy rights.
The European Commission approves a Swedish export-credit insurance scheme until December 31st, 2010, in accordance with the Temporary Framework for State Aid Measures in the current financial and economic crisis
►Full Reference: Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and Conseil national des Barreaux (CNB), Compliance, vigilance et médiation (Compliance, Vigilance and Mediation), November 30, 2023, Amphithéâtre du Conseil national des barreaux.
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►The symposium is organised by the Journal of Regulation & Compliance (JoRC) and the Conseil national des barreaux (CNB).
► Presentation of the theme: To increase respect for human rights and the environment in the context of corporate social responsibility and compliance, public authorities and companies have for several years been implementing instruments and processes for dialogue between companies on the one hand and stakeholders inside and outside the company on the other. Among these, mediation is regularly highlighted as a necessary and fruitful process for reaching agreements that benefit employees and civil society players, as well as the environment and society as a whole.
John Ruggie, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, in his report of 21 March 2011, Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, recommends mediation as an effective and appropriate non-judicial grievance mechanism. The ISO 26000 standard on social responsibility also explicitly refers to the use of mediation in the section Actions and related expectations (6.3.2.6) and say that an organisation should establish or ensure the availability of redress mechanisms for its own use and for that of its stakeholders. For these mechanisms to be effective, they should be [...] based on dialogue and mediation: the process should aim to remedy breaches through mutually agreed solutions reached through dialogue between the parties. Where a judgment is desirable, the parties should retain the right to reach it through separate, independent mechanisms.
Similarly, the French law No. 2017-399 of 21 March 2017 relative au devoir de vigilance des sociétés mères et des entreprises donneuses d’ordre (on the duty of vigilance of parent companies and ordering companies) has given rise to disputes relating to the design and application of vigilance plans by certain companies subject to this law. Mediation has been proposed by the courts, sometimes accepted, and we know that some have been successful.
At the same time, the draft European Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CS3D) is likely to impose or extend obligations relating to the duty of vigilance on a large number of companies in the European Union, for the respect of human rights and the environment by companies in global value chains.
The result of all this is that respect for human rights within organisations and companies depends on recourse to the courts, on cooperation processes such as mediation, both project mediation and mediation specific to the resolution of disputes, while recourse to the courts will not suffice to rapidly make respect for these obligations effective.
The legislator and the parties concerned are aware of this, and they refer to the use of mediation as necessary to help both civil society actors committed to respect for human rights and the environment and companies to reach agreements on compliance with these obligations.
Lawyers, mediators and people assisting stakeholders and companies have an important role to play in the success of these mediations.
In collaboration with the Journal of Regulation and Compliance (JoRC), the Conseil national des barreaux (CNB) is organising a half-day conference on "Compliance, vigilance et médiation" ("Compliance, Vigilance and Mediation") to train lawyers to this activity, which will develop either as an extension of another activity or as its own activity, and which has major implications for individual rights, society and the environment.
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►Construction of the symposium: After a general introduction to the triptych of Compliance, Vigilance and Mediation and the links that it implies, the first part of the event will focus on the contribution of Mediation to the effectiveness of Compliance and, more particularly, to its most advanced aspect, the duty of vigilance. After a debate on this topic, the second part of the event will focus on the conduct of project mediation or dispute resolution in such a context. A conclusion will enable us to draw immediate lessons from the information and exchanges that have taken place.
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Speakers:
🎤Matthieu Boissavy, attorney at the Paris Bar, vice-president of the CommissionLiberté et droits de l'homme of the CNB
In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors
ENGLISH
Bibliographic Report (Book): The regulation of industrial networks, what evolutions and perspectives in France and in Europe? by Fondation Nationale Entreprise et Performance
Full citation: Fondation nationale Entreprise et Performance, La régulation des réseaux industriels. Quelles évolutions et perspectives en France et en Europe?, Preface Hagelsteen, Marie-Dominique, 105 p., La documentation Française, 2011.
Report by Marie-Anne Frison-RocheManaging Editor and Director
This report ambits to improve the regulation of industrial networks in France and in Europe. Therefore, the Fondation nationale Entreprise et Performance (FNEP) concentrates its study on industrial networks, a category in which it includes telecommunications, energy, rail transportation, and postal services, in France and in Europe. The report proposes new rules or adaptations to old ones in order to increase regulators’ independence, efficacy, and oversight. It then suggests rules be modified to allow for the implementation of regulation at the European level, whenever the relevant market is European in scale.
FRENCH
Compte-rendu bibliographique (Livre): La régulation des réseaux industriels. Quelles évolutions et perspectives en France et en Europe ? par Fondation Nationale Entreprise et Performance.
Compte-rendu faite par Marie-Anne Frison-Roche
Ce rapportambitieux vise à améliorer larégulation des réseauxindustriels en France eten Europe.Par conséquent, laFondation nationaleEntreprise etPerformance(FNEP)concentreson étude sur lesréseaux industriels,une catégorie dans laquellele rapport inclutles télécommunications, l’énergie,le transport ferroviaire,et les services postaux,en France eten Europe.Le rapportpropose de nouvelles règlesou des adaptationsde précédentes, afin d’accroîtrel’indépendance des régulateurs, d’augmenter l’efficacité et la surveillance.Il propose ensuite que des règlessoientmodifiées pour permettrela mise en œuvrede la régulation auniveau européen, chaque fois quele marché pertinent estde dimension européenne.
ITALIAN
Relazione bibliografica (Libri): III-1.9: La regolazione delle reti industriali. Quali sono le evoluzioni e le prospettive in Francia e in Europa? A cura della Fondation Nationale Entreprise et Performance
Questa relazione punta a migliorare la regolazione delle reti industriali in Francia e in Europa. Tuttavia la “Fondation Nationale Entreprise et Performance” (FNEP) focalizza la sua attenzione sulle reti industriali, una categoria che include le telecomunicazioni, l’energia, il trasporto ferroviario ed i servizi postali, in Francia ed in Europa. La relazione propone delle nuove regole o una modifica delle regole esistenti per aumentare l’indipendenza, l’efficacia e la vigilanza delle autorità di regolazione. Inoltre, propone di modificare alcune norme per permettere l’applicazione della regolazione al livello europeo, ogni volta che il mercato rilevante è quello europeo.
Summary of the news: Through its decision of 22nd of October 2020, the Autorité de la concurrence (French Competition Authority) accepted the commitments proposed by retail sector's firms Casino, Auchan, Metro and Schiever so that their agreement by which a common body centralizes purchases from numerous retailers, allowing each to offer these products under private label, is admissible with regard to competitive requirements.
In this particular case, the Authority had self-sized in July 2018, estimating that such a purchase center could harm competition, opening immediately a large consultation on the terms of the contract. In October 2018, the law Egalim permitted to the Authority to take temporary measures to suspend such a contract, what the Authority did from September.
The convention parties' firms committed on the one hand to update their contract limiting the power on suppliers, especially small and very small suppliers, excluding totally of the field of the contract some kind of products, especially food products and reducing the share of bought products volume dedicated to their transformation in distributor brand.
The Autorité de la concurrence accepts this proposal of commitments, congratulates itself of the protection of small suppliers operating like that and observe the similarity with the contract consisting in a purchase center between Carrefour and Tesco, which will be examined soon.
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We can draw three lessons of this innovating decision, which could be a model for after:
1. The technique of Compliance Law permits to the Autorité de la concurrence to find a reasonable solution for the future.
Indeed, rather than punishing much later by a simple fine or to annihilate the performing mechanism of the purchase center, the Authority obtains contract modifications.
The contract is structured and the obtained modifications are also structural.
The commitments are an Ex Ante technique, imposed to operators, for the future, in an equilibrium between competition, operators and consumers protection and the efficacy of the coordination between powerful operators.
The nomination of a monitor permits to build the future of the sector, thanks to the Ex Ante nature of Compliance Law.
2. The retail sector finally regulated by Compliance technics.
"Distribution law" always struggle to find its place, between Competition law and Contract Law, especially because we cannot consider it as a common "sector".
The Conseil constitutionnel (French constitutional court) refused a structural injunction power to the authority because it was contrary to business freedom and without any doubt ethics of business is not sufficient to the equilibrium of the sector.
Through commitments given against a stop of pursuits relying on structuring contracts, it is by Compliance law that a Regulation law free of the condition of existence of a sector could leave.
3. The political nature of Compliance law in the retail sector
As for digital space, which is not a sector, Compliance law can directly impose to actors imperatives that are strangers to them.
In the digital space, the care for fighting against Hate and for protecting private life; here the care for small and very small suppliers.
Impartiality of the regulator is one of the most important principles of Regulation and Compliance Law. However, this impartiality can be difficult to implement when the regulation object has a strong moral dimension.
In August 2020, various religious associations sized the Conseil National de Régulation de l'Audiovisuel sénégalais (Senegalese audiovisual regulatory authority) to ask the interdiction of broadcasting on television of the film "Les infidèles" telling the story of a married woman with multiple lovers.
First, the regulator distinguishes the sequences likely to be detrimental to cultural and religious identities and shocking sequences or likely to attack the dignity of the person. Then, it asks the deletion of indecent and obscene scenes and of scenes likely to be detrimental to cultural and religious identities, bans the broadcasting of the film in the television before 10.30 pm, asks an update of the trailer and requires the introduction of a pictogram "forbidden to children under 16" during the broadcasting. The CNRA judges itself able to regulate the content of telefilms in order to protect cultural identities with regards to the law of 4th of January setting its mission.
In 2012, a similar controversy surrounded, in France, the broadcasting of a different film with the same name. However, the purpose and the context were very different because the film was broadcasted at cinema, because it presented adultery men, because it was comic, because the competent regulator was not an administrative body but a professional body and because the broadcasting country was not the same. Here, only the poster was modified.
Thus, an impartial regulation must however taking into consideration "local cultural identities".
In The Journal of Regulation the summaries’ translation are done by the Editors and not by the authors
ENGLISH
Bibliographic Report (Book): Libéralisation et services publics : économie postale [Liberalization and Public Services: Postal Economics] by François Boldron, Claire Borsenberger, Denis Joram, Sébastien Lecou, and Bernard Roy.
The authors of Liberalization and Public Services: Postal Economics set out to provide a complete and comprehensive economic study of the challenges and possibilities engendered by the liberalization of the French Postal Service. Using experiences from other countries and industries, as well as taking into account the specificities of France’s postal service, the authors have used economic studies to provide an exhaustive account of what the contours of the postal service of the future may be.
ITALIAN
Relazione bibliografica (Libri) : Libéralisation et services publics : économie postale [Liberalizzazione e Servizi pubblici: economia postale] di François Boldron, Claire Borsenberger, Denis Joram, Sébastien Lecou, and Bernard Roy.
Gli autori di “Libéralisation et services publics : économie postale” (Liberalizzazione e Servizi pubblici: economia postale) cercano di predisporre uno studio economico completo e comprensivo delle sfide e delle possibilità generate dalla liberalizzazione del servizio postale francese. Utilizzando le esperienze di altri paesi e di altre industrie, e prendendo in considerazione le specificità del servizio postale francese, gli autori hanno usato studi economici per definire il possibile futuro del sevizio postale.
Fleur Herrenschmidt is Counsel in the EU Competition department at Allen & Overy Paris. She has a post graduate degree in European Law (College of Europe) and in European Legal Studies (University of Paris X) and an LL.M. from the London School of Economics. (...)