The European Accessibility Act is a directive aimed at improving the accessibility of products and services for people with disabilities across the European Union. It establishes common accessibility requirements for a wide range of products and services provided to consumers to ensure that people with disabilities have better access to digital and physical environments, thereby promoting their inclusion and participation in society.
On 13 December 2024, the new Regulation (EU) 2023/988 on general product safety (GPSR) will finally apply in all EU Member States, replacing the current Directive 2001/95/EC on general product safety.
The GPSR addresses risks related to new technologies and online trading, covering a wide range of products. It represents the most comprehensive reform of European product safety law in over 20 years and will impact most economic operators (manufacturers, importers, distributors, fulfillment service providers, etc.) in the EU market.
The recently published OECD survey involving 43 member countries found that less than half of the countries require the publication of drug list prices, while the remaining countries are affected by legal and/or contractual constraints that prevent the publication of drug price information.
EU Regulation 2024/1689 on Artificial Intelligence has the aim to introduce strict rules for the design, implementation and placing on the market of Artificial Intelligence systems, to be applied both to suppliers established in European territory and to suppliers established outside the European Union.
The European Council adopted the new Product Liability Directive on 10 October 2024, and it is now awaiting publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. From its entry into force, member states will have two years to transpose it into their national law. The new directive derogates Directive 85/374/CEE. Considering the current context in which digitalization and business models based on sustainability and the circular economy are booming, it was crucial to carry out an update of the rules governing the civil liability of manufacturers and other operators of defective products.
The new EU Capital Requirements Directive establishes a new harmonized and more restrictive framework for cross-border banking and lending into the EU. The new third country branch rules will prohibit the provision of certain banking services into the EU on a cross-border basis by firms outside the EU, unless done in accordance with limited exemptions.
On 17 September 2024, the European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), an EU body that prosecutes among others financial crimes that affect the EU budget, announced that it is seeking criminal penalties from two companies and five of their directors of more than 8 years imprisonment along with a fine of over EUR 25 million. Over 30 properties linked to the defendants were seized to ensure that the defendants can meet their financial liabilities.
On 28 June 2024, the European Ecodesign Regulation (2024/1781/EU) (“Ecodesign Regulation”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union and entered into force on 18 July 2024. This Regulation means a radical change in the manufacturing method of a wide variety of products and directly affects the supply chain of all those companies that intend to introduce products into the European Union. Its fundamental aim is to make products more sustainable by introducing a series of requirements and prohibitions that will be adapted to each product group by means of delegated acts of the European Commission.
The EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive exempts financial institutions from due diligence to identify, mitigate and remedy potential adverse impacts, whether human rights or environmental, in their downstream “chain of activities”. In practice, however, it will be hard to escape entirely, not least as the sector will still need to adopt and implement transition plans.
Navigating regulatory compliance in the fast-paced crypto markets is challenging. The MiCAR Compliance Toolkit provides you with the practical steps needed to help you prepare for the new regulatory regime for cryptoassets in the EU.