On December 15, 2020, the French and Dutch financial market authorities released a joint position paper that calls for European regulation pertaining to the provision of environmental, social and governance ("ESG") data, ratings, and related services.

On 17 December 2020, the European Parliament adopted a Resolution on sustainable corporate governance. While not legally binding, the Resolution (and its related report) highlights the strong expectation that upcoming corporate governance proposals from the European Commission will include a series of additional mandatory sustainability-related obligations and incentives for companies.

On November 17, the OECD Working Group on Bribery (“Working Group”) issued its long-awaited Phase 4 Review monitoring the United States’ adherence to the OECD Treaty regarding transnational corruption, which under U.S. law is implemented by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”). The 180-page report, adopted at the October meeting of the Working Group, noted how the United States has made important strides on effective detection of corruption and enforcement of the FCPA, as well as on legal developments on key issues such as corporate liability. The last full evaluation by the OECD Working Group on Bribery of the United States was in 2010.

While interagency cooperation agreements are very common in countries like the UK and the United States, they are less so in continental Europe. The Protocol of Cooperation between the French Financial Markets Authority (AMF) and the French Anti-Corruption Agency (AFA), concluded on September 16, 2020, is therefore worth noting.

As public money is increasingly used to mitigate the damage of COVID-19 on the world economy, the guidance document issued by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Corruption (UNDOC) on August 31, 2020, should raise the interest not only of public authorities but also of all companies bidding for public procurements

Dreamed of by some for a long time, the creation of the EPPO marks a dramatic shift in the fight against crimes affecting the EU’s budget and an important step towards creating a common criminal justice area in the European Union as a whole. Following the July 27th decision of the European Council, this dream of some (and possibly the nightmare of others) is becoming a reality.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), representing more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries has just issued its ICC Guidance on Integrity for a Covid-19 Response and Resilient Rebuild. The Guidance has been finalized under the leadership of the Commission on Corporate Responsibility and Anti-corruption, taking into consideration input and commentary from ICC national committees and members. According to the ICC, “with this Guidance, ICC encourages business and governments to continue to uphold the highest standards for integrity in business transactions during the Covid-19 crisis and for the post-Covid rebuild”.

The UK NGO “Spotlight on Corruption” just issued a report entitled “WEAK LINK OR FIRST LINE OF DEFENCE? THE ROLE OF UK EXPORT FINANCE IN FIGHTING CORRUPTION IN A POST-CORONAVIRUS AND POST-BREXIT TRADE DRIVE”