SPAIN’S PLAN TO INCENTIVISE SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT

The CNMV (National Securities Market Commission) has highlighted the need to make European savings accounts more attractive both fiscally and operationally. They encourage offering tax advantages to incentivise long-term investment and direct savers’ money towards key sectors like digitalization and sustainability.

Spain, along with other European countries, is promoting a Competitiveness Laboratory to establish a label for investment products that provide tax benefits. However, since taxation is a national competence, the European Commission can only make suggestions or recommendations.

The CNMV also emphasizes the need to improve financial education so that citizens can access more profitable investment options beyond bank deposits. Additionally, measures are being prepared to strengthen capital markets and reduce burdens for fund managers.

In this regard, Inverco and the CNMV have joined forces to implement key European and OECD proposals for funds and pensions, welcoming additional tax incentives. This was discussed at the 2025 General Assembly of Inverco held in Madrid on June 04-06-2025, specially how to boost savings, investment in funds and pensions.

Nationwide, a key factor would be to maintain the current regulatory framework for funds while welcoming extra tax advantages to attract new investment flow. On the European side, the upcoming measures should eliminate national barriers to the cross-border commercialization of founds.

Moreover, the OECD made a report in which recommends to take action and promote measures such as boosting company and individual pension plans while considering contentious issues like removing the ten-year liquidity cutoff in pension vehicles. 

SOURCES:

Ángel Alonso, Madrid, 04-06-2025 “la CNMV insiste en que las cuentas de ahorro europeas sean ‘fiscalmente atractivas y sencillas operativamente’” Funds Society, 04-06-2025 “Inverco y la CNMV suman fuerzas para materializar las propuestas marcadas por Europa y la OCDE en fondos y pensiones, y dan la bienvenida a incentivos fiscales añadidos.”

COMMISSION UNVEILS €193 BILLION EU BUDGET FOR 2026

On 4 June, the European Commission has put forward its draft EU annual budget for 2026, amounting to €193.26 billion in commitments, complemented by €105.32 billion from NextGenerationEU. Building on the mid-term review of the EU’s 2021–2027 long-term budget, the proposal aims to address ongoing global and regional challenges, such as the energy crisis and rising geopolitical tensions.

The 2026 draft budget aligns with the new Commission priorities by allocating funds to key flagship initiatives, including the Competitiveness Compass, the Clean Industrial Deal, the Union of Skills, and the EU Startup and Scaleup Strategy. It also introduces simplification measures through new Omnibus proposals, aiming to streamline EU funding and implementation processes.

BACKGROUND

The draft EU budget for 2026 includes both the expenditure covered by the long-term budget ceilings, financed through the EU’s own resources, and additional spending under the NextGenerationEU instrument, which is financed through borrowing on the capital markets.

For the core EU budget, two figures are presented for each programme: commitments and payments. Commitments represent the amounts that can be legally agreed upon in contracts during the year, while payments refer to the actual disbursements made within the same period. All figures are expressed in current prices.

NEXT STEPS

The European Parliament and the Council must formally adopt the 2026 budget before year-end.

BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Below is an overview of the main budget priorities and the amounts allocated to each:

Agriculture and Fisheries: €54.6 billion

€53.8 billion – Common Agricultural Policy

€0.8 billion – European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund

Regional Development and Cohesion: €42.09 billion Social Cohesion and Employment: €14.51 billion (through the European Social Fund Plus) External Action and Global Partnerships: €15.51 billion

€10.11 billion – NDICI – Global Europe

€2.20 billion – Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA III)

€0.50 billion – Growth Facility for the Western Balkans

€1.93 billion – Humanitarian Aid (HUMA)

Ukraine Support: €10.59 billion

€3.89 billion – Grants under the Ukraine Facility

€6.70 billion – Loans

Research and Innovation: €14.12 billion

€12.97 billion – Horizon Europe (Includes funding for the European Chips Act)

Strategic Investments: €4.59 billion

€3.02 billion – Connecting Europe Facility (cross-border infrastructure)

€1.00 billion – Digital Europe Programme

€299 million – InvestEU

European Space Programme: €2.33 billion Resilience and EU Values: €15.13 billion

€4.3 billion – Erasmus+

€396 million – Support for artists and creators

€332.6 million – To promote Justice, rights, and values

Environment and Climate Action: €2.18 billion

€802.9 million – LIFE programme (climate action)

€1.26 billion – Just Transition Fund

Border Protection: €2.69 billion

€1.2 billion – Integrated Border Management Fund (IBMF)

€1.13 billion – Frontex (European Border and Coast Guard Agency)

Migration: €2.32 billion

€2.08 billion – Support for migrants and asylum seekers

Defence: €1.99 billion

€1.0 billion – European Defence Fund (EDF)

€251.3 million – Military Mobility

Single Market Functioning: €1.02 billion

€622 million – Single Market Programme

€207 million – Anti-fraud, taxation, and custom

LINKS FOR MORE INFO

2026 annual budget to fund EU priorities addressing global challenges: link

EU budget 2026: Providing crucial funding for EU priorities in times of global volatility: link

Questions and Answers about the Draft Annual Budget 2026: link

The UK immigration system: under or out of control?

The UK Government recently released “Restoring control over the immigration system: White Paper.” A ‘White Paper’ is a non-binding document issued by a Government to provide notice of its intentions to change policy or publish legislation. This White Paper addresses changes to the UK’s immigration system. Among the many, some controversial, changes, were significant changes for businesses in the UK which hire foreign workers. The White Paper includes proposals to:

Lift the level for skilled workers up to (Regulation Qualification Framework)  RQF 6 and above, and to lift salary thresholds;A degree-level qualification will now be required for a Skilled Worker visa, essentially repurposing this route to address graduate-level roles. occupations below RQF 6 must be listed on the new Temporary Shortage List to provide time limited access to the Points-Based immigration system;The Immigration Salary List will be replaced by the new Temporary Shortage List, over which we have little detail regarding how ‘shortages’ will be identified. restricting employers’ sponsoring skilled visas if they are not ‘committed’ to increasing domestic skills training;The Government will require employers in industries which heavily recruit overseas to demonstrate how they are committed to creating the skill base they need within Britain. increase the Immigration Skills Charge by 32%; andThe already expensive Immigration Skills Charge increasing will affect the economics of hiring lower-paid workers. increase language requirements for Skilled Workers from B1 to B2 (Independent User) and introduce a new A1 (Basic User) requirement for all dependants of workers.Delays to planned hires can be expected while waiting for new hires and their dependents reaching the requisite level of English.

These non-binding proposals are subject to approval via the UK’s political processes. Whether or not all of the proposals mentioned pass, it is likely that the immigration system in the UK is likely to tighten across the next four years of this Government’s tenure. The Labour Government faces threats from other political parties with strong anti-immigration messaging and this White Paper may be seen as the Government’s defence against them. The Government and the Prime Minister have been accused of lacking a clear ideology, or indeed having any good ideas, about how to improve the quality of life in Britain. The strength of these proposals for the Government lies in their political value – the extent to which politics continues to foster anti-immigrant sentiment in the UK is likely the extent to which we will see these changes come to pass.

An interesting counterpoint to this is the news that the new UK-EU deal may include a ‘youth experience scheme.’ Under the proposals, people between 18 and 30 years old will be able to work throughout the EU and UK for up to two years.

More than anything else, this likely signals the ideological confusion at the heart of the British Government – commercial certainty is unlikely to materialise any time soon.

BANKING AND FINANCE

The Venezuelan Central Bank (VCB) established the interest rates applicable to the obligations derived from employment relationships (59.36% and 47.68% - March 2025) and to operations with credit cards (60.00% annual maximum lending rate and 17.00% annual minimum lending rate April 2025). (Official Gazette of 04/14/2025. Official Notice. Entry into force: Upon publication in the Official Gazette).

The Ministries of the Popular Power for National Trade and for Electric Energy issued the following resolutions:

Joint Resolution No. 006/2025 and 013/2025 that establishes the technical regulations on energy efficiency labeling of refrigerating and freezing appliances for household use. Joint Resolution No. 007/2025 and 014/2025 that establishes the technical regulations on energy efficiency labeling of air conditioners.(Official Gazette of 04/02/2025. Entry into force: As from six (6) months following its publication in the Official Gazette).

TAX

The Ministry of the Popular Power for Economy and Finance resolved to delete Complementary Note 3 of Chapter 87 of article 37 of Decree No. 4.944, dated 04/24/2024, published in Official Gazette No. 6.804 Extraordinary of 04/25/2024, through which the Schedule of Customs Duties was issued. Therefore, in the case of the importation of motor vehicles and chassis with engine and of motor vehicles with no engine, the requirement of Conformity of the Mobile Source Emission Certificate and of Mobile Source Emission Certificate, respectively, was removed. (Official Gazette of 04/14/2025. Resolution No. 010/2025. Entry into force: Upon publication in the Official Gazette).

MISCELLANEOUS

The Ministry of the Popular Power for National Trade issued Resolution No. 019/2025 that establishes the technical regulations on raw material for footwear. (Official Gazette of 04/04/2025. Entry into force: As from six (6) months following its publication in the Official Gazette).

The Ministries of the Popular Power for Productive Agriculture and Lands, for Defense, for Hydrocarbons, for Internal Affairs, Justice and Peace, and for Transportation issued a joint resolution that establishes the control mechanisms for carriers and end users of mineral or chemical fertilizers in the national territory. (Official Gazette of 04/23/2025. Joint Resolution DM/No. 031/2025, DM/No. 059115/2025, DM/No. 003-2025/2025, DM/No. 018/2025, DM/No. 0020/2025. Effectiveness: From 04/01/2025 up to and including 03/31/2026).

The Ministry of the Popular Power for Transportation established the minimum and maximum rates for urban transportation service. Likewise, it established the maximum official rate for suburban routes nationwide to be charged by the providers of the public service of ground passenger transportation. The Official Request published in Official Gazette of 11/22/2024 was revoked. (Official Gazette of 04/24/2025. Official Request and Resolution No. 021. Entry into force: Upon publication in the Official Gazette).

Grimaldi Alliance (GA), the international law and tax firm with 12 offices across Italy and a direct presence in New York, Lugano, Brussels, London, and Paris – supported by a network of professionals operating in over 70 jurisdictions and led by Managing Partner Francesco Sciaudone - is further strengthening its presence in Switzerland through the addition of the law firm Germann Avocats.

Founded in Geneva in 2000, Germann Avocats is a prominent player in the Swiss legal market, boasting an experienced team that advises private clients, SMEs, start-ups, major Swiss and international companies, public institutions, and non-governmental organizations. Its areas of expertise include corporate, administrative, and contract law, data protection, unfair competition, public procurement, migration law, intellectual property, M&A transactions, as well as litigation and mediation.

“With the addition of Germann Avocats, we aim to consolidate GA’s presence in Switzerland, now extending beyond Lugano to include Geneva and Zurich, in both legal and tax matters. Together with Christophe Germann and his team – and our Gianvirgilio Cugini in Lugano – our goal is to provide comprehensive full-service support for the Swiss market, in Lugano, Zurich, and Geneva, in Italian, French, and German,” said Francesco Sciaudone, Managing Partner of GA.

TRUMP’S NEW TARIFF POLICY: GLOBAL IMPACTS AND TAX IMPLICATIONS

Donald Trump’s return to the presidency of the United States in January 2025 was marked by significant changes in American trade and tax policies. Continuing its protectionist approach, the Trump administration has implemented a series of sweeping tariff measures that have profoundly impacted global trade. 

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TRADEMARK REGISTRATION IN THE USA: EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PROTECT YOUR BRAND IN THE AMERICAN MARKET

Expanding your company to the United States can be a fundamental step towards the global growth of your business. But before you start selling or providing services in the country, it’s essential to ensure your brand is protected. In this article, you will understand what trademark registration in the USA is, why it is important, how the process with the USPTO works and how Drummond Advisors can help you on this journey.

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ESTIMATED TAX FOR INDIVIDUALS  

Estimated tax is a form of tax prepayment levied on income that does not have tax withheld at source. This is the case, for example, for self-employed professionals, independent contractors, investors, rental property owners, among others.

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TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UPDATES: U.S. AND BRITAIN HAIL BENEFITS OF TRADE AGREEMENT

Britain trade deal: President Trump said Britain had agreed to increase market access for billions of dollars in American exports, including beef, ethanol and other farm products under a new trade deal — but many of the details are being left to get worked out later. The agreement would pare back tariffs Mr. Trump imposed on British steel, aluminum and automobiles. 

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COULD BRAZIL BENEFIT FROM TRUMP'S TARIFF HIKE?

Fears that Brazil would be one of the main targets of Donald Trump 's government's global tariff hike gave way to some relief after the White House placed the country on the lowest extra import tax (10%).

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PROJECT INCREASES ANNUAL REVENUE LIMIT FOR STARTUPS TO R$50 MILLION

Complementary Bill 226/24 allows companies with annual revenues of up to R$50 million to be classified as startups . The Chamber of Deputies is analyzing the proposal, which changes the legal framework for startups and innovative entrepreneurship.

Source: Agência Câmara de Notícias

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UNEMPLOYMENT IN BRAZIL HITS LOWEST LEVEL SINCE 2012

The unemployment rate in Brazil rose to 7% in the first quarter of 2025, leaving around 7.7 million people out of the job market. Despite the increase, this is the lowest rate for the period since 2012, as reported by the IBGE.

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On 9 April 2025, the European Commission presented the AI Continent Action Plan to make EU a world leader in artificial intelligence (AI). The idea was first shared by President Ursula von der Leyen at a major AI summit in Paris earlier this year but now we have the details.

The Action Plan rests on five pillars: infrastructure, data access, adoption in key sectors, talent development and regulatory simplification. Together, they form a comprehensive roadmap for strengthening the EU’s position in the rapidly evolving global AI landscape.

A closer examination of these pillars reveals further details.

Building a large-scale AI data and computing infrastructure

Key takeaway:

13 AI Factories are already under deployment across Member States. EU will also help establishing up to 5 AI gigafactories with approximately 100,000 state-of-the-art AI chips, four times more than current AI factories. InvestAI will mobilise €20 billion in public-private investment to build up to 5 Gigafactories. Call for Expression of Interest was launched for potential consortia and will close on 20 June.

At the heart of the plan is a significant investment in AI infrastructure. The EU is setting up AI Factories next to Europe’s most powerful supercomputers. These centres will help startups, researchers, and businesses build AI systems and test new ideas.

The Commission also wants to build AI Gigafactories. These will have around 100,000 advanced AI chips, four times more than the AI Factories, and the goal is to train the most powerful AI models in the world. The EU will invest €20 billion to support up to five of these new Gigafactories. A call for expression of interest for interested consortia was published and will be open until 20 June 2025, 17h00.

This physical expansion will be accompanied by a new legislative proposal: the Cloud and AI Development Act for which a public consultation is currently open (see the following section "Next Steps" for further details and in “Useful links” for the link). The goal is to at least triple the EU's data centre capacity in the next five to seven years, prioritising highly sustainable data centres.

Increasing access to large and high-quality data

An important element of the Action Plan is the creation of Data Labs, bringing together and curating large, high-quality data volumes from different sources in AI Factories. A comprehensive Data Union Strategy will be launched in 2025 to create a true internal market for data that can scale up AI solutions.

Developing algorithms and fostering AI adoption in strategic EU sectors

Despite growing interest in AI, only about 13.5% of European companies currently use AI technologies. To close this gap, the Commission will soon launch the Apply AI Strategy, which will promote its industrial use and full adoption in EU strategic public and private sectors.

Strengthening AI skills and talents

To meet rising demand for AI talent, the Commission will facilitate international recruitment of highly skilled AI experts and researchers through initiatives such as the Talent Pool, the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action ‘MSCA Choose Europe' and AI fellowships schemes offered by the upcoming AI Skills Academy. These actions will empower both young professionals and experienced workers to take part in Europe’s AI future while creating legal pathways for highly skilled migrants in this field.

Regulatory simplification

The Commission will also launch the AI Act Service Desk, to help businesses comply with the AI Act. It will serve as the central point of contact and hub for information and guidance on the AI Act.

NEXT STEPS

To further shape these initiatives, the Commission opened also two public consultations, running until 4 June 2025:

A public consultation where anyone interested can share their views on the Cloud and AI Development Act. The Commission would like to gather different stakeholder views on the EU’s capacity in cloud and edge computing infrastructure, especially in light of increasing data volumes and demand for computing resources. A public consultation on Apply AI to identify stakeholder priorities, challenges to the uptake of AI, and the relevance of proposed solutions and policy approaches, including additional measures to ensure an easier application of the AI Act.

A third public consultation on Data Union Strategy will be launched in May.

In parallel, the Commission will organise dialogues with industry representatives and the public sector to help shape the Apply AI Strategy.

Commission tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the EU is “committed” to the act’s main goals but said the Commission is looking into the “administrative burden” and considering “some reporting obligations we could cut.”

BACKGROUND

The AI Continent Action Plan builds on a series of recent policy milestones, including the enforcement of the AI Act and the launch of InvestAI. These initiatives are aimed at making the EU digitally competitive in a short time, as it needs to catch up compared to its competitors.

The EU AI Act, Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, aims to establish a legal framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in the EU and is the first regulation in the world to address AI in this comprehensive manner. It seeks to ensure that AI is used safely, ethically, and transparently while fostering innovation. The Act categorizes AI systems into four risk levels, imposing stricter requirements for higher-risk systems. These include data quality, transparency, accountability, and human oversight. At the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris (Feb 11, 2025), Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched InvestAI, an initiative to mobilise €200 billion for investment in AI, including a new European fund of €20 billion for AI gigafactories. This large AI infrastructure is needed to allow open, collaborative development of the most complex AI models and to make Europe an AI continent.  

SUSTAINABILITY OBLIGATIONS ON HOLD: “STOP THE CLOCK” DIRECTIVE (2025/794/EU) PUBLISHED

On 16 April 2025, Directive (EU) 2025/794 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The text represents the first revision procedure introduced under the Omnibus I Package.

The directive, which will enter into force the day after its publication in the Official Journal, had been adopted without amendments on 14 April by both the European Parliament (under the urgent procedure) and the Council of the EU—reflecting a shared political will to provide greater legal certainty for businesses regarding sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations.

Commonly referred to as the “Stop the Clock” Directive, the measure postpones the deadlines for transposing and applying certain obligations set out under two key pieces of EU legislation:

Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive – CSRD); and Directive (EU) 2024/1760 (Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive – CSDDD),

which together form the legislative framework addressing sustainability, non-financial reporting obligations, and the duty of due diligence for companies operating within the EU.

Specifically, the Parliament and Council endorsed the Commission’s proposal to defer the following:

two years, the application of CSRD reporting requirements for large companies which have not yet begun reporting, and for listed SMEs.

As a result, large companies with more than 250 employees will now be required to report for the first time on their environmental and social measures in 2028 (instead of 2026), referring to the previous financial year. Listed small and medium-sized enterprises will be required to report a year later.

one year, the transposition deadline and the first phase of CSDDD application for large companies.

EU Member States will now have until 26 July 2027 to transpose the directive into national law. The one-year deferral will also apply to: EU-based companies with over 5,000 employees and a net worldwide turnover exceeding €1.5 billion, and to non-EU companies with turnover generated within the EU above the same threshold, which will now be required to comply with the rules from 2028, instead of 2027. The same timeline applies to EU companies with more than 3,000 employees and a net turnover above €900 million, and non-EU companies exceeding that threshold in turnover generated within the EU.

The directive also specifies that Member States are required to comply with its provisions by 31 December 2025, and to promptly inform the European Commission thereof.

It is worth noting that only the deadlines have been changed while the substance of the CSRD and CSDDD remains unchanged.

Background

In October 2024, the European Council called on all institutions to advance work in response to the challenges identified in the reports by Enrico Letta ("Much more than a market") and Mario Draghi ("The future of European competitiveness"). In the Budapest Declaration of 8 November 2024, it was specifically requested to launch a simplification revolution in order to ensure a clear, simple and smart regulatory framework for businesses and to drastically reduce administrative, regulatory and reporting burdens, particularly for SMEs.

On 26 February 2025, following the call from EU leaders, the Commission presented two packages: Omnibus I and Omnibus II, aimed at simplifying existing legislation in the areas of sustainability and investment, respectively.

The Commission proposed these omnibus packages to ease sustainability-related rules and promote the competitiveness of European businesses. The goal is to create a more favourable environment for investment, growth and the creation of quality jobs, without compromising the objectives of the Green Deal.

Specifically, the aim is to reduce administrative burdens by 25% (and by 35% for SMEs), by reviewing rules considered excessive, overlapping or disproportionate. The proposed changes concern key directives such as the CSRD, the CSDDD, the CBAM, and the InvestEU regulation. All of this is in line with the recommendations of the aforementioned reports and the European Competitiveness Compass.

Useful links for further information

Council of the EU press release on 14/04/2025: link European Parliament press release on 03/04/2025: link Q&As on the Omnibus I and II Simplification Packages: link

Against Squatting in Barcelona

The Provincial Court of Barcelona has changed its stance regarding squatting and now considers that "cutting off or refusing to pay utilities for squatters who forcefully occupy properties will not constitute a crime of coercion". The courts have also clarified that it must be "verified that the conditions that originally justified the measure stillapply," referring to Real Decreto-ley 11/2020 and Real Decreto-ley 1/2025, which extend the extraordinary suspension of evictions for 'vulnerable' individuals.

However, this change is limited to specific circumstances. First, these measures only apply in cases where the squatter has taken possession by force—they do not apply to tenants who fail to pay rent (which would still constitute coercion). Second, it must be proven that the squatters are not in a vulnerable situation or that their actions amount to'true abuse.' Finally, this ruling only applies in Barcelona and Girona, as the rest of Spain has not yet adopted this legal shift.

The courts are debating the interpretation of the law and the reality faced by citizens. While it is true that some cases of squatting stem from necessity, it is equally true that legitimate property owners often feel abandoned. This is why the decision has been made to protect owners from those who exploit legal loopholes (fraus legis) to takeadvantage of laws originally designed to protect genuinely vulnerable individuals. This could mark the beginning of the end for the government's anti-eviction policies. Time will tell whether this approach spreads to other Spanish courts.