On June 10, Annick De Ridder, the transport minister of ⁠the Flanders region, made the announcement through a post on the popular micro-blogging platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, “I just signed the approval that allows Tesla to roll ‌out ⁠its technology after the company successfully carried out a series of tests in the country.”

⁠Authorizations granted in one of the three Belgian regions are considered valid in all ⁠the country’s territories. This came just a day after the EV giant securing a similar approval in Denmark. The Netherlands, Lithuania, and Estonia have already taken similar steps.

In Denmark, the Danish Road Traffic Authority granted provisional approval after reviewing the original type approval issued by the Dutch vehicle authority (RDW) on April 10, 2026. As per the reports, individual countries are now bypassing slower European Union-wide harmonization processes, accelerating the FSD’s deployment.

FSD Supervised comes with advanced driver assistance capabilities, including automatic steering, acceleration, braking, lane changes, and navigation through complex urban and rural environments. Tesla has designed the system for supervised use, making sure drivers get the opportunity to take over the vehicle’s control if the mechanism doesn’t perform as per their expectations, especially in situations like rain, night driving, and varied road types.

Early data from the Netherlands, the first EU member nation that approved the FSD’s launch within its territory, highlighted strong safety performance.

Between April 10 and June 5, vehicles using FSD Supervised recorded 3.5 times fewer collisions than manual driving overall, with zero crashes reported on highways across more than 16.6 million kilometers driven. As part of its European push, Tesla now has reached 12 countries with FSD supervised availability.

In Denmark, owners with compatible hardware, especially newer vehicles equipped with Hardware 4 (HW4), may gain the FSD’s access first, though exact timelines and eligibility details are not clear yet.

After securing regulatory nods in four European markets in just two months, the FSD technology is steadily advancing toward wider availability across the continent. The Elon Musk-led automaker is looking to refine the system further through ongoing data collection and software iterations.

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Longi has received the orders from Eurowind Energy, which has ordered a 22-MW batch for the Portuguese scheme, while 42MW will be delivered for two hybrid projects in Denmark. The order is part of the framework agreement previously signed in May.

Eurowind Energy chief executive Jens Rasmussen told the media, “Placing this order shows our commitment to solar PV from the Portuguese to the Danish markets. This is another proof that solar is a fully integrated part of our business alongside our wind portfolio.

“We look forward to seeing the panels arriving from Longi Solar’s facilities and begin the installation. We are comfortable that Longi Solar will deliver on time and with the same high quality, they have become known for.”

Longi Solar also supplied 477 MW of modules for the Sol do Sertao solar project in Bahia, Brazil.

Recently, it was reported that Chinese renewable energy firm Trina Solar will supply modules to the Futura 1 photovoltaic project in Brazil. Futura 1 will comprise three phases, made up of 22 individual facilities developed by Focus Energia, at Juazeiro in the Bahia region. The first phase of which will have a capacity of 850 MW.

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The North Sea island will be established 80 kilometers from the shore of the Jutland Peninsula. The project will be carried out by both the government and private companies where the government will hold a majority stake.

The island will provide green energy to three million households in its first phase and provide green energy to the 10 million households once it is completed and the island is expected to be operational by 2033.

Furthermore, the government plans to turn Denmark into a carbon-neutral economy by 2050 and aims to reduce the usage of greenhouse emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 1990’s levels. The government, last year, unveiled it would stop extracting oil from the North Sea and will cancel the future license of oil refiners who are seeking to extract oil from the sea.

Dan Jorgensen, Danish Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities, told the media, “The energy hub in the North Sea will be the largest construction project in Danish history. It will make a big contribution to the realization of the enormous potential for European offshore wind, and I am excited for our future collaboration with other European countries.”

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Denmark’s decision to halt exploration work in the North Sea is expected to help the country realise its commitment to stop climate change. Last week, the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that the country will cut national carbon emissions  by 68 percent by 2030. The proposed percentage is at a faster rate than other economies. 

Ken Penton, UK climate campaigner for the international NGO, Global Witness, told the media, “If the UK is to be a real global climate leader, it must follow Denmark’s lead by stopping issuing new oil and gas exploration licences and delivering a managed phase-out of oil and gas extraction. This must include funding a just transition for oil and gas workers and their communities to ensure they can benefit from the new green economy and do not suffer the fate of UK coal miners and their communities.”

Now the Danish government has even cancelled its next oil and gas licencing round. It has been 80 years since it first began work in its hydrocarbon reserves. Although Denmark will continue to extract fossil fuels, its has made a decision to quit the hunt for new reserves. This in turn will certainly put an end to its fossil fuel production in the future, media reports said.

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According to Maersk, the site is equipped with a modern, state-of-the-art temperature controlling system that facilitate the safekeeping of sensitive cargo, catering for both exports and imports to and from South Africa.

The company said in a statement, “Quality is pivotal when it comes to perishables and this can only be guaranteed by experienced and competent personnel who have a thorough understanding of the specific requirements of the cold chain. Powered and driven by a team hand-picked to ensure expertise in all aspects of perishable logistics, our team possesses vast experience in the industry enabling us to offer a personalised solution.”

Last month, Maersk and Romanian freight forwarding and logistics provider IB Cargo, announced their partnership for the operation of a 75,000 square metre regional distribution centre located in CTPark Bucharest West industrial park. The facility is expected to be completed by the end of 2020 and operational by mid-2021.

During the same period, the Danish supply chain and logistics company also signed an agreement with Canadian Pacific Railway to develop and operate a world-class transload and distribution facility in Vancouver. It will help both parties expand their supply chain options for customers.

CP’s President and CEO Keith Creel told the media, “CP’s unique landholdings in Vancouver enable us to bring to market a first-of-its-kind transload facility that creates tremendous opportunity for sustainable growth. Together with Maersk, the global shipping leader, we will transform intermodal transportation in North America.”

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According to Denmark’s third largest bank, Danish customers under the mortgage with negative interest rates will make a monthly repayment as usual but the amount outstanding will gradually reduce each month by more than what the borrower has paid.

Similarly, another Danish bank Nordea has also announced that it will begin offering 20-year fixed-rate deals at 0 percent and a 30-year mortgage at 0.5 percent.

While the bank’s announcement on the Danish bank’s negative interest rate mortgages has puzzled many, some question the bank’s strategy. Jyske’s housing economist Mikkel Hoegh explained that Jyske Bank has access to money markets where it can borrow from institutional investors at a negative rate. According to him, the bank will pass the same money to its customers.

However, those who are willing to save in the banks will not receive anything as interest. To make matter worse, the interest rate may as well go negative. Last week, Zurich-based UBS announced that it would introduce a charge of 0.6 percent a year if the customers’ deposits exceed €500,000.

The Danish bank’s negative interest rate on a mortgage might sound attractive but in reality, it’s more complicated. With additional fees involved, experts believe the customers might end up owing money on the loan, rather than earning it.

Lise Nytoft Bergmann, chief analyst at Nordea’s home finance unit in Denmark told the media that,” It’s an uncomfortable thought that there are investors who are willing to lend money for 30 years and get just 0.5 percent in return. It shows how scared investors are of the current situation in the financial markets, and that they expect it to take a very long time before things improve.”

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The online broker has grown rapidly over the past 12 months, following the launch of its new ParagonEx 4.0 platform and in-house developed trader behaviour tracking technology, MassInsights™.  This helps traders make informed decisions by allowing them to view a collective of other traders and see how they’re trading.

UFX.com has appointed special teams for its Scandinavian launch, with a new online campaign being rolled out immediately.

Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com said: “2016 has been a fantastic year for UFX.com, but we have even bigger plans for 2017, starting with our launch in Scandinavia.

“The Nordic region has always been ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and there are some hugely talented traders in the area. We look forward to providing them with our award-winning products and services which I’m sure will be very well received.

“There are some extremely exciting opportunities in different markets throughout the world and we have global ambitions. This is just the beginning of a significant expansion for UFX.com and the UFX brand.”

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November 30, 2016: Verifone (NYSE: PAY), a global provider of payments and commerce solutions, announced that Denmark’s third largest retail company Dagrofa and the country’s fastest growing discount chain REMA 1000 have selected Verifone to enable more options for the way consumers shop and pay in their stores. Dagrofa and REMA 1000 represent significant wins and growing market share for Verifone.

With its chamber of commerce proposing to make all money transactions electronic, Denmark is a leader in the world’s shift towards cashless societies with approximately 80 percent adoption of non-cash payments. The country is also home to one of the world’s most progressive and widely adopted mobile payment schemes. MobilePay, created by Danske Bank, is installed in more than 90 percent of Danish consumer smartphones, and is only surpassed by Facebook and Messenger in app acceptance.

By upgrading to Verifone, Dagrofa and REMA 1000 will be playing a significant role in driving consumer adoption of mobile payment in the country, as it is ready for future mobile payment options such as plans by Dankort, the country’s national debit card, to enable payments through consumer mobile devices.

“We already support MobilePay, but now we are the first in Denmark to integrate mobile payment with card payment in just one piece of hardware. We want to make it even easier for our customers to make digital payments. Verifone has all the necessary functionality and provides an open and very straightforward solution at the cash register. Combining every type of payment in the same device makes life easier for both customers and our employees. Our goal is to deliver excellent experiences related to food, and Verifone’s solution will help us deliver on this goal,” says Dagrofa CEO Per Thau.

“With the Verifone device upgrade, we can ensure our customers will have an easy and convenient experience using their preferred payment method whether it is a Danish or international card, Dankort or MobilePay,” says Torben L. Sørensen, CFO, REMA 1000.

”We are very proud that Dagrofa and REMA 1000 have selected Verifone as their payment solution provider. Our solution benefits both our clients and their customers alike as it can handle many payment methods including all payment cards and many mobile apps,” says Chris Lund-Hansen, General Manager of Denmark, Verifone.

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IFM Correspondent

October 28, 2016: New Zealand managed to unseat Singapore from the top position in the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ Index, a globally followed ranking that is released each year by the World Bank. It ranks countries – as one would expect – according to the ease with which businesses can be set up and run in the nation. Singapore had had an unbroken stint at the top for 11 years.

The reasons

The World Bank attributed reductions in labour-related taxes and new regulations that make paying taxes easier as the key reasons for moving New Zealand to the top spot from its previous position as runner-up.

Methodology

A set of 10 parameters/topics is used to zero in on the ranking for each country. These include the ease of starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency.

The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier (the distance of each economy to the ‘frontier’, which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005) scores on the 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators. Equal weight is given to each topic.

Doing Business 2017: The Top 10

The Doing Business 2017 team studied 190 economies around the world. In general, European countries fared better, with Denmark, Norway, UK, Sweden and Macedonia all finding spots in the Top 10. New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea and the US also featured in this list.

Most of the top ten shifted around a bit, with Denmark staying in third place, Hong Kong edging higher to fourth from fifth, exchanging places with South Korea, and Norway rising to sixth. The United States, the United Kingdom and Sweden ranked slightly lower.

Other economies: Notable points

Brunei showed the biggest improvement in rankings over last year, moving to the 72^nd position from last year’s 84^th with a new insolvency law passed, increased protection for minority investors and more reliable supply of electricity.

Somalia came in at the bottom, indicating that it is the hardest country to do business in, while the most improvement was seen among several of the emerging market countries. The reason behind this trend is seen to be a move by the governments of these countries to pursue business-friendly reforms.

Implications of the rankings

The World Bank says better performance in the ‘Doing Business’ rankings generally equates to lower levels of income inequality and reduced poverty. “Simple rules that are easy to follow are a sign that a government treats its citizens with respect,” the World Bank’s chief economist Paul Romer said in a statement. “They yield direct economic benefits – more entrepreneurship, more market opportunities for women, more adherence to the rule of law.”

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Sophie Brackenbury

September 19, 2016: Our commercial dispute resolution team was recently instructed to advise on the enforcement of a debt owed to a German business (our client) by a UK company, as part of our debt recovery service.  The outcome was that we were able to enforce the debt effectively in the UK courts on behalf of our German client.

The process involved obtaining a European Order for Payment (EOP) in the creditor’s domestic court (in this case Germany), which could then be enforced in other European courts (in this case the English courts). This is possible owing to Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 (‘the Regulation’), which provides a streamlined process for enforcing debts against parties in other EU member states where the amount is not disputed. In such circumstances, a creditor can file a standardised form with the courts in the relevant member state, wait for the courts to approve the application and issue the EOP, and then pursue enforcement of the debt. This means that the UK currently has favourable terms for enforcing debts compared with countries outside of the EU.

This process does, of course, now give rise to the question of whether – when Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty has been triggered and the UK has left the EU at some point in a little over two years – it will still be possible – and if possible – whether it will be easy for (a) a business based in an EU member state to recover debts in the UK and (b) UK-based companies to recover debts in the EU.  The wider implications for UK businesses trading with European companies could be significant, including:

• A great deal more caution in terms of business dealings between UK and EU companies;
• The necessity to carry out more detailed and costly due diligence and credit risk assessment of new European customers;
• A fear – particularly among smaller organisations where significant unpaid levels of debt can affect cash flow to a catastrophic level – of doing business of any kind with European customers

Added to which, of course, is that this is just one example of what could be an incredibly nebulous set of circumstances and scenarios that UK businesses will be faced with once we trigger Article 50, and the myriad EU originating provisions that govern commercial life begin to unravel.

Perhaps, the most helpful parallel would be to look at the position in Denmark, which unlike other member states opted not to implement the Regulation and so falls outside of the EOP regime. If a party in Denmark wished to pursue recovery of a debt in another EU member state, it would need to pursue court proceedings in the relevant jurisdiction and rely on local enforcement laws in order to recover the debt. Likewise, parties in other EU member states will have to rely on Danish local enforcement laws, as would be the case if pursuing a debt in a non-EU member state. This includes EEA/EFTA member states, as the Regulation does not extend to these countries. As such, parties in the both the UK and the EU will likely have to follow the Danish example when pursuing debt recovery post-Brexit.

It’s not all doom and gloom, in that this is not necessarily a more difficult course of action, it’s just a different course of action to the one currently available. It does, however, require detailed consideration of the differences between each jurisdiction (which the current – ‘pre-Brexit’ – situation minimises by having a standardised application process). As such, while debt recovery proceedings in EU member states will still be possible following Brexit, it will be necessary for businesses to take different and often more complicated and costly processes into account when considering the risks of trading with European organisations.

So, where does this leave UK business?  Whilst the likely implications remain uncertain until we know what form Brexit will take, it will probably involve increased time and costs in pursuing debt recovery. Our advice is to plan your strategy carefully, not only in terms of debt recovery and enforcement, but also throughout your business, including your commercial agreements, relationship with employees etc.  This process should take into account the over-arching imperative to minimise risk to your business. Specifically, the following may be helpful as a starting point:

• As the UK has not yet triggered Article 50 and thereby the process to leave the EU (which itself will be a two-year process), there is still time to prepare.  The current position seems to be that the UK government will trigger Article 50 at some point early in 2017. However, you should start now, consult your professional advisers, and ensure you have a strategy in place.

• As a first step, businesses, particularly those that rely on trade with the EU or where loss of trade with EU would have a significant impact, should carry out analyses, including the extent to which their business relies on pan-EU trade and, therefore, the risk that Brexit presents. For example, what percentage of your income relies on trade with other European countries?  What do you need to do to ensure that this continues? How much of that income could you afford to lose before it has a significant effect on your business?

We have been part of the EU (and its predecessors) for more than 40 years. That’s a long time and in that time, we have built up a complex and binding set of trade rules and procedures. Extracting ourselves from these will be complicated and there will be some pain. The uncertainty (and therefore increased risk) means it is important for all businesses, who rely to any degree on EU trade, to minimise that pain by planning early and putting a risk strategy in place.

Sophie Brackenbury handles Dispute Resolution at Shulmans LLP

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