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New amendment to the COVID-19 entry regulation
From January 15, 2021, entry into Austria requires a mandatory electronic registration (“Pre-Travel-Clearance”). The only exceptions to this are regular commuters, transit travelers or those who enter the country for reasons that cannot be postponed and are particularly worthy of consideration in the family circle. The registration requirement applies in addition to the already applicable obligations and restrictions. TAIYO Legal will be happy to advise you on the entry requirements that apply to you and support you with your entry into Austria.
15. January 2021
Brexit and financial services
After the end of the transitional period on 01.01.2021, the provision of financial services by the United Kingdom (UK) will be subject to laws of the European Union (EU) for third countries. Regulations of the EU for “passporting”- rights within the EU will no longer apply to providers of financial services seated in the UK. A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) would not remove most of the potential disruption in the financial service sector; an FTA does not deal with “passporting”- rights. Financial services between the UK and the EU will be determined mainly based on equivalence decisions of the European Commission. The European Commission will determine, if a third country’s regulatory, supervisory and enforcement laws are equivalent to the relevant legal framework within the EU.
4. December 2020
Relief for family reunification for children below the age of 18
The Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof ; VwGH) changed its previous jurisprudence in one essential point in favor of family reunification. This point concerns the question of when a child of a person, who wants to reunite his/her family, needs to be below the age of 18. The VwGH has stated that it is sufficient if a child is at the age of 18 (or below) when the application is submitted. Therefore, it has no procedural consequences, if the child becomes 18 years old during ongoing proceedings (see VwGH Ra 2017/22/0021 dated 09.09.2020, referring to the judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) dated 16.07.2020, B.M.M. et al., C-133/19; C-136/19 and C-137/19).
30. October 2020
Monopoly on filing for bankruptcy by the FMA
According to the Austrian Banking Act, only the Austrian Financial Market Authority (FMA) may file an application to initiate insolvency proceedings over the assets of a credit institution. In a recent decision, the Supreme Court for Civil Matters decided that the competence of the FMA to file such applications remains in force even after the withdrawal of a banking license. As a credit institution in liquidation, the debtor in question can continue conducting banking affairs even after the withdrawal of its licence. Therefore, it is to be treated as a credit institution in this context (OGH dated 19.06.2020, 8 Ob 27/20h).
14. August 2020
Privacy Shield does not provide adequate protection
The ECJ addressed the transfer of data from an EU country to a third country. The court decided that the EU-US Privacy Shield, an implementing act by the Commission, was invalid. The US surveillance measures are not limited to what is strictly necessary, do not guarantee the independence of an ombudsman, and do not guarantee authorization to make binding decisions against American intelligence agencies for an ombudsman (ECJ C 311/18 dated 16.07.2020).
31. July 2020