The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SME (DG GROW) published the results of an EU-funded market surveillance campaign. This campaign tested the safety of hyaluronic acid‑based dermal fillers as part of the Joint Actions on Compliance of Products programme, which examines 16 product categories for compliance with EU standads. Market surveillance authorities in nine countries tested 17 samples, with four failing laboratory safety tests and another four failing to meet the Medical Device Regulations requirements for labelling and instructions.

The European Commission has found Achem guilty of participating in a drug ingredient cartel for more than a decade after the drugmaker previously chose not to settle in an investigation. It has fined alchem 489,000 Euros after finding that the company had illegally fixed the price of an API known as N-Butylbromide Scopolamine/Hyoscine (‘SNBB'), an important input material to produce the abdominal antispasmodic drug Buscopan and its generic versions. In addition, Alchem exchanged commercially sensitive information. This has been the first cartel that the Commission sanctioned in the pharmaceutical sector and in relation to an active pharmaceutical ingredient. The Commission cooperated and coordinated certain investigative activities with the Swiss and Australian competition authorities.

The European Commission has fined AliExpress €550 million for breaching its obligations under the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) to assess and mitigate risks arising from the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its e-commerce platform. The Commission found that AliExpress failed to adequately assess the risks associated with the dissemination of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products. It found that the platform overestimated the effectiveness of its moderation systems, failed to adequately assess whether it had sufficient staff to review potentially illegal products, inadequately assessed how its recommender and advertising systems contributed to the spread of illegal products, and relied on insufficient quantitative metrics in its risk assessment. The Commission also identified shortcomings in AliExpress' risk mitigation measures and has ordered the platform to take action. AliExpress has until 20 October 2026 to submit an action plan setting out measures to remedy the breaches.

The European Commission has fined Apple €500m and Meta €200m for breaching EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA) obligations. Apple violated anti-steering rules by restricting app developers from informing users about alternative payment options outside the App Store. Meta breached user consent requirements with its 'consent or pay' model for Facebook and Instagram. Both companies have 60 days to comply with the Commission's decisions or face additional penalties. The Commission also removed Meta's Facebook Marketplace from EU DMA designation due to falling below business user thresholds.

The European Commission has imposed a fine of €2.95bn on Google for breaching Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU. The Commission found that Google abused its dominant position in the advertising technology markets by systematically favouring its own ad exchange, AdX, through its publisher ad server (DFP) and ad buying tools (Google Ads and DV360). This practice, which has been ongoing since at least 2014, distorted competition and reinforced Google's market power. Google is required to end these self-preferencing behaviours and address the structural conflicts of interest within its adtech operations, submitting proposed remedies within 60 days. The Commission noted that, should Google's proposals prove inadequate, further measures including divestment may be imposed. The fine was calculated in view of the severity and duration of the infringement, AdX’s turnover, and Google's prior history of similar violations. This decision is made in parallel with an investigation by the US Department of Justice, with a related trial scheduled for 22 September 2025.

The European Commission has fined Google a total of €890 million  for breaching the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA), imposing a €460 million  fine for unlawfully favouring its own services in Google Search and a €430 million fine for restricting app developers from directing users to alternative purchasing channels through Google Play. The Commission found that Google gave preferential prominence to its own services over comparable third-party services in Google Search and unlawfully prevented app developers from freely informing users about, promoting and directing them to alternative, often cheaper, purchasing options outside Google Play, with steering-related fees and charging periods exceeding what is permitted under the EU DMA. It ordered Google to end the infringements within 60 days by treating third-party services fairly in search results and allowing app developers to communicate and conclude contracts with users both within and outside Google Play, or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its total worldwide turnover. The Commission noted that Google has begun testing changes to its search results, AI features and steering terms, which it will continue to assess as part of its compliance monitoring, and said the fines reflect the gravity and duration of the infringements.

The European Commission has fined Temu €200 million under the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) for failing to properly identify, analyse and assess the systemic risks linked to illegal products sold on its platform and the resulting harm to consumers in the EU. The Commission found that Temu’s 2024 risk assessment did not meet EU DSA requirements because it relied on general information about the wider e-commerce sector rather than evidence specific to Temu’s own platform, underestimated the likelihood of EU consumers encountering illegal products and failed to adequately assess how features such as recommender systems and influencer promotion programmes could increase the spread of illegal goods.

The European Commission has fined X €120m for breaching the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) due to the deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’, the lack of transparency in its advertising repository, and its failure to provide researchers with access to public data, in what marks the first non-compliance decision under the EU DSA. The Commission found that X’s paid ‘verified’ status misleads users by suggesting verification without meaningful checks, exposing them to impersonation and manipulation. It also determined that X’s ads repository lacks required transparency, including missing information on ad content, topics and paying legal entities, alongside design barriers that hinder scrutiny of online advertising risks. Further, the Commission notes that X’s restrictive terms and obstructive processes prevent eligible researchers from accessing public data, undermining research into systemic risks in the EU. The Commission requires X to, within 60 working days, inform the Commission of measures to end the infringement of Article 25(1) DSA relating to deceptive design, and within 90 working days submit an action plan addressing violations of Articles 39 and 40(12) on advertising transparency and data access, subject to subsequent review by the Board of Digital Services and final Commission decision. Failure to comply may result in periodic penalty payments.

An independent body established by the Local Government Act 1974 (LGA 1974) to investigate: alleged or apparent maladministration in connection with the exercise of an authority's administrative functions; an alleged or apparent failure in a service which it was an authority's function to provide; and an alleged or apparent failure to provide such a service.

The European Commission has obtained the necessary support from EU Member States on its proposal to impose definitive countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles from China, advancing its anti-subsidy investigation on subsidised electric cars from China. Meanwhile, the EU and China are exploring a World Trade Organization-compatible solution to address injurious subsidisation established by the Commission's investigation. The Commission must publish an Implementing Regulation, including the definitive findings in the investigation, in the Official Journal by 30 October 2024.

The European Commission has announced that around 190 organisations have signed the voluntary Code of Practice on Transparency of AI-generated Content ahead of the application of the transparency obligations under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act) on 2 August 2026. The Commission states that the Code, which was drafted by independent experts and assessed by both the Commission and the AI Board, provides a voluntary framework to help providers and deployers of generative AI systems comply with the AI Act's requirements to mark and label AI-generated content. According to the Commission, signatories represent a range of sectors, including information technology, telecommunications, education and retail, with around half comprising small or recently established companies.

The European Commission has announced the entry into force of the EU-Chile Interim Trade Agreement (ITA), following Chile's ratification. Signed in December 2023, the ITA eliminates tariffs on 99.9% of EU exports to Chile and includes pioneering chapters on energy and raw materials, trade and gender, and sustainable food systems. The agreement aims to boost bilateral trade, ensure sustainable access to critical raw materials, and promote shared values. The Commission notes that the ITA will be superseded by the Advanced Framework Agreement once ratified by all EU Member States.