The Council approved conclusions on democratic resilience and safeguarding electoral processes from all forms of foreign interference. As billions of citizens cast their ballots globally in 2024 – including in the European Parliament elections – the conclusions underline that democratic resilience remains a central focus of the Council’s agenda. In an evolving security environment, […]
Council approves gas and hydrogen market package
The Council has adopted a regulation and a directive establishing common internal market rules for renewable and natural gases and hydrogen and reforming the existing EU gas legislation. The new rules will help make the shift to renewable and low-carbon gases, in particular hydrogen, in the energy system, with a view to achieving the EU’s […]
Artificial intelligence act: Council gives final green light to the first worldwide rules on AI
Today the Council approved a ground-breaking law aiming to harmonise rules on artificial intelligence, the so-called artificial intelligence act. The flagship legislation follows a ‘risk-based’ approach, which means the higher the risk to cause harm to society, the stricter the rules. It is the first of its kind in the world and can set a global standard for AI regulation. […]
Council position on increasing the safety level of toys
The Council has adopted its position (negotiating mandate) on the toy safety regulation that updates the rules to protect children from risks related to the use of toys. While the current legislation makes EU toy safety rules among the strictest in the world, the proposed legislation aims to increase protection from harmful chemicals (e.g. endocrine […]
The Council adopts the EU’s pact on migration and asylum
The Council adopted a landmark reform of the European asylum and migration system. This establishes a set of rules that will help to manage arrivals in an orderly way, create efficient and uniform procedures and ensure fair burden sharing between member states. Complete overhaul of EU asylum and migration system The Council today adopted in […]
EU economic governance review: Council adopts reform of fiscal rules
The Council adopted three pieces of legislation that will reform the EU’s economic and fiscal governance framework. The main objective of the reform is to ensure sound and sustainable public finances, while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth in all member states through reforms and investment. “The new legislation will significantly improve the existing framework and provide effective and applicable […]
European Parliament approves new rules to improve working conditions for delivery drivers and other employees of digital platforms
On Wednesday, MEPs approved new rules aiming to improve the working conditions of platform workers. The new rules, agreed on by the Parliament and the Council in February and adopted with 554 votes in favour, 56 votes against and 24 abstentions, aim to ensure that platform workers have their employment status classified correctly and to correct bogus […]
European Parliament gives final green light to new EU anti-money laundering legislation
The European Parliament has adopted a package of laws strengthening the EU’s toolkit to fight money-laundering and terrorist financing. The new laws ensure that people with a legitimate interest, including journalists, media professionals, civil society organisations, competent authorities, and supervisory bodies, will have immediate, unfiltered, direct and free access to beneficial ownership information held in […]
European Commission backs Spain’s request for a targeted review of its recovery plan
The Commission yesterday endorsed Spain’s request for a specific revision of its Recovery and Resilience Plan, which Spain had submitted to the Commission on 19 March 2024. The proposed amendments are of a technical nature and stem from the comprehensive review of the Spanish plan, which was adopted by the Council on 17 October 2023. […]