Introductory materials

This subtopic contains introductory Practice Notes on EU law:

An introduction to EU law provides an overview of the institutions, institutional framework, general principles, and enforcement of EU law with reference to the relevant provisions of EU legal sources.

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Latest EU Law News

Commission publishes new MDCG guidance on post-market surveillance

The European Commission has published MDCG 2025–10, a new guidance document on post-market surveillance of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic medical devices, setting out a common approach to how manufacturers and other stakeholders should meet post-market surveillance obligations under Regulation (EU) 2017/745 on medical devices (MDR) and Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (IVDR) on in vitro diagnostic medical devices across the EU.

Commission amends EU ETS State aid Guidelines to address increased carbon leakage risks

The European Commission has adopted an amendment to its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) State aid Guidelines to address the increased carbon leakage risk faced by additional energy-intensive industries due to higher EU ETS costs. Key changes include: (1) extending the list of industrial sectors eligible for compensation to include 20 new sectors and two new subsectors; (2) increasing the aid intensity from 75% to 80% for sectors already eligible before the amendment to account for their higher carbon leakage risk; (3) allowing Member States to notify sectors or subsectors not on the amended list if they can demonstrate a genuine risk of carbon leakage and (4) requiring large beneficiaries to contribute to the green transition, including investing a portion of the aid in projects that reduce electricity system costs. Additionally, CO₂ emission factors and geographic areas have been updated for 2026–30. The amendment allows Member States to apply a gradual transition from 2026 to 2030, where the decrease in the applicable maximum regional CO₂ emission factor compared with 2021–25 is particularly large.

ESMA publishes updated manual on pre-trade and post-trade transparency under MiFID II and MiFIR

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a manual on pre-trade and post-trade transparency under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2014/65/EU) (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (Regulation (EU) 600/2014) (MiFIR). This manual replaces ESMA’s previous manual on post-trade transparency under MiFID II and MiFIR and incorporates the latest updates following the 2025 review of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS), including enhanced guidance on post-trade transparency reports, pre-trade transparency for equity instruments, and the input/output data requirements for Consolidated Tape Providers (CTPs).

Commission proposes extension of interim rules on child sexual abuse detection

The European Commission has proposed extending the Interim Regulation allowing certain online communication service providers to continue voluntarily detecting, reporting and removing child sexual abuse material on their services across the EU, to avoid a legislative gap when the current regime expires on 3 April 2026. The proposal would extend the temporary derogation from parts of Directive 2002/58/EC (e-Privacy Directive) until 3 April 2028, pending agreement on the Commission’s long-term draft Regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse first proposed in May 2022. The Commission has said the extension is necessary to ensure continued protection of children and effective law enforcement action while negotiations on permanent rules continue. The proposal now requires adoption by the European Parliament and the Council.