by Melvyn Morrison

On 23rd June 2016, British citizens voted by a slim majority (52% versus 48%) to leave the European Union. Nine months later, on 29th March 2017, the British government triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty to formally notify the European Council about its intention to leave the European Union. This not only marked the start of a 2-year period for negotiating the exit terms, but also prompted a discussion about the future rights of expatriates. The UK is thus due to leave the EU on 29th March 2019 after the exit terms have been agreed. If the terms of a so-called ‘divorce settlement’ are not announced by 21st January 2019, several options are available including leaving the EU without a deal, and delaying departure by seeking extension of the deadline with the unanimous support of the UK and the other 27 EU countries. However, the UK’s relationship with the EU will still remain largely the same until after the transition period that is presently scheduled to end on 31st December 2020. UK expatriates would certainly have liked to have been formally consulted about crucial decisions affecting their futures.  Continue reading…

by Michel Klompmaker
We recently had an interview in Brussels with Aurélien Slodzian, CEO and Peter Buelens, president of the Board and both co-founders of OPEX Alliance. OPEX Alliance is a Brussels-based start-up that developed a cloud-based software platform through which companies and service-organizations can identify how well – or how badly – they manage the levers to become ‘operational excellent’ (OPEX). In addition, the platform enables users to evaluate in this way, every organizational unit, compare their scores, monitor progress and assign and follow-up initiatives for improvement. The method can be used by every type of organization, regardless of its size.
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published an Opinion relating to the risks posed by lack of preparation by financial institutions for the departure of the UK from the EU. In this Opinion, the EBA asks Competent Authorities to ensure that financial institutions take practical steps now to prepare for the possibility of a withdrawal of the UK from the EU with no ratified Withdrawal Agreement in place, and no transition period. 

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by Josée Weydert & Jad Nader

The new act on markets in financial instruments (the “MiFID Act”), transposing Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments (“MiFID II”) and implementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 on markets in financial instruments (“MiFIR”), was voted into law on 15 May 2018 and published on 30 May 2018. The MiFID Act will enter into force on 4 June 2018. Most issues related to markets in financial instruments are covered by the first part of the MiFID Act, while the provision of investment services will continue to be governed by the Financial Sector Act of 5 April 1993 (the “LFS”), as amended by the second part of the MiFID Act.
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Vaibhav Sharma

Unisys studies show that the average cost to acquire and set up a customer account at a branch is $350. Setting up the same account online reduces the cost to $140. Because of numbers like this, you may have already taken the vital first step of developing an omnichannel strategy. If so, you’re ahead of the pack – but to stay in the lead, you have to implement that strategy effectively. That can be quite a challenge. Continue reading…

Hostility towards the media is spreading from dictatorships to democracies, encouraged by U.S. President Donald Trump’s and other leaders’ attacks on ‘fake news,’ according to the 2018 World Press Freedom Index. The annual yardstick produced by the advocacy group Reporters without Borders, which measures media freedom in 180 countries, found assaults on the press – ranging from taunts to murder – were becoming graver. The worst decline in freedom was in Europe, though the region is still the world’s safest for journalists, according to the index. Two murders helped drive the decline. In October 2017, Daphne Caruana Galizia, a prominent Maltese journalist who probed corruption by the country’s elites, was assassinated in a car bomb. In Slovakia, 27-year old investigative reporter Jan Kuciak and his fiancée Martina Kusnirova were shot to death during Kuciak’s investigation of ties between Slovakian officials and Italian Mafia figures.
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On the 27th of May more than 40,000 runners from 120 different nationalities will occupy the lanes and parks of Brussels, on the occasion of the 20km of Brussels – one of the largest amateur sport events in Europe. Among them will be Team RUN FOR #ZEROCORRUPTION – as you may have guessed this is an initiative from the Belgian chapter of Transparency International. Initiator Evert-Jan Lammers: “The idea came up three years ago at the time of the scandals at FIFA and the Russian Athletics Federation. The Olympics in Rio and the European Soccer championship in France were under preparation. For some years already, Transparency International had its spotlight on the weak governance in the sport industry, and also the increasing problems of match fixing, illegal betting and doping.
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Josée Weydert,  Jad  Nader & Vincent Wellens

Luxembourg’s well-known financial secrecy laws are changing. Bill n° 7024 amending inter alia Article 41 of the Financial Sector Act of 5 April 1993 (the “FSA”) in this respect, initially gave rise to much discussion but was ultimately adopted. Barriers to several financial outsourcing transactions will officially disappear and the (IT) outsourcing landscape could undergo substantial changes. This newsflash takes a closer look at some of the most important changes which not only deal with the rules on professional secrecy but also clarify several organisational requirements to be complied with in outsourcing transactions.
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Kenny van Ierlant

The digital transformation prompted by rapidly changing business models, as part of the chain reversal, has already turned the world upside down. Numerous companies and governments (organizations) have invested heavily in the digitization of their business processes as part of the chain reversal by automating non-automated processes in order to save heavily on the costs of labor to benefit the shareholders! The premise that this approach will lead to “agility” and lower cost-income ratios will not materialize the majority of case. This digitization also reveals a great sociological problem, namely that top management has no idea how such a transformation should be implemented. The lack of essential knowledge at the top level is a guarantee for many accidents and destruction of shareholder value.
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TRG a provider of subscription spend management software solutions, recently announced it has acquired Screen Group (“Screen”). The acquisition of Screen will further solidify TRG’s position as a global market leader in enterprise spend management. The new company will have a greater suite of complementary, innovative software solutions that will be uniquely positioned to provide the full spectrum of subscription spend management capabilities across expense management (FITS, INFOmatch), usage tracking (ResearchMonitor), enquiry management (Quest), specialist consulting services and events to many of the world’s leading financial, legal and professional services firms. Continue reading…