The Commission is adopting a proposal to update the criminal law rules on child sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime which has evolved significantly over the past years. These revised rules expand the definitions of offences and introduce higher penalties and more specific requirements for prevention and assistance to […]
Read More
Council and Parliament strike provisional deal on the right to repair directive
The Council and the European Parliament reached a provisional deal on the directive that promotes the repair of broken or defective goods, also known as the right-to-repair (or R2R) directive. The legislation agreed today will make it easier for consumers to seek repair instead of replacement by making the access to repair services easier, faster, […]
Read More
Fight against trafficking in human beings: Council and European Parliament reach agreement to strengthen rules
The Belgian presidency of the Council and representatives of the European Parliament reached a provisional agreement to add forced marriage, illegal adoption and surrogacy as types of exploitation covered by the EU’s anti-trafficking law. The update of the directive on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings will also require EU countries to make sure […]
Read More
New rules to fight cross-border payment fraud in the EU enter into force
New transparency rules come into force this 1 January that will help EU Member States to crack down on Value-Added Tax (VAT) fraud. The new rules will provide tax administration of the EU Member States with payment information allowing them to detect VAT fraud more easily, with a particular focus on e-commerce which is particularly […]
Read More
A new era of corporate taxation in the EU begins
On 1 January, ground-breaking new EU rules came into force introducing a minimum effective tax rate of 15% for multinational companies with activities in EU Member States. Ground-breaking new EU rules come into effect today introducing a minimum rate of effective taxation of 15% for multinational companies active in EU Member States. The framework will […]
Read More
European Commission designates second set of very large online platforms under Digital Services Act
The Commission adopted a second set of designation decisions under the Digital Services Act, designating 3 Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). These are: Pornhub Stripchat XVideos The designation is the result of Commission investigations concluding that the three services fulfil the threshold of 45 million average monthly users in the EU. Today’s designations follow a first set of designation decisions of 19 […]
Read More
European Commission adopts proposals to improve the passenger and traveller experience by strengthening passenger and traveller rights
The new rules will build on lessons learned, including the recent experiences of the COVID-19 crisis and the bankruptcy of the travel group Thomas Cook in 2019, which had a major impact both on travellers and on the travel market. In particular, they will clarify rules on reimbursement when flights or multimodal journeys are booked […]
Read More
Council and Parliament reach agreement on updating Waste Shipment Regulation
The revision of the regulation aims to reduce shipments of problematic waste to outside the EU, update shipment procedures to reflect the objectives of the circular economy and improve enforcement. It sets procedures and control regimes to ensure that international shipments of waste do not pose a threat to human health and the environment, and […]
Read More
The Interoperable Europe Act will improve online public services for people and businesses
The Commission welcomes the agreement reached last evening between the European Parliament and Council on the Interoperable Europe Act. This regulation will strengthen cross-border interoperability and cooperation in the public sector across the EU. The Commission proposed the Act to help achieve Europe’s digital targets for 2030, by making key public services available online to all […]
Read More