The European Commission has announced plans for a Critical Medicines Act to address supply chain vulnerabilities and reduce Europe's dependencies on critical medicines. The initiative aims to strengthen the supply of essential pharmaceuticals and improve availability of other medicines of common interest. The proposal will complement ongoing reforms to EU pharmaceutical legislation and builds upon existing work by various expert groups. The Commission has opened a public consultation period from 30 January to 27 February 2025 to gather feedback on this proposed regulation in the field of public health.

The European Commission proposed a Critical Medicines Act on 11 March 2025 to strengthen EU pharmaceutical supply chains. The regulation introduces Strategic Projects to boost EU manufacturing capacity, provides state aid guidance for member states, and requires public procurement to favour EU production for critical medicines with high dependency on limited suppliers. The Act builds on the 2023 pharmaceutical reform and complements the Union List of Critical Medicines covering over 270 active substances. Industry bodies such as European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations and Medicines for Europe, broadly welcomed the proposal while calling for clarity on procurement requirements and stockpiling mandates.

The European Commission has proposed the EU Digital Networks Act to modernise, simplify and harmonise EU rules on electronic communications networks. The aim is to strengthen the single market for connectivity, support investment in advanced fibre and mobile infrastructure, and improve Europe’s competitiveness through widespread access to high-capacity networks. The proposal reduces regulatory fragmentation by enabling cross-border service provision through single-state registration, promoting pan-European satellite services via EU-level spectrum authorisation, and improving consistency and predictability in spectrum licensing, including greater use of spectrum sharing. It introduces mandatory national plans to phase out copper networks and transition to advanced connectivity between 2030–35, supported by safeguards to ensure transparency and continuity of service for consumers. The Act also reduces administrative burdens, allows more flexibility in business-to-business arrangements while maintaining consumer protection, strengthens network security and resilience through EU-level coordination and preparedness measures, and preserves net neutrality by clarifying open internet rules, and will be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council for approval.

The European Commission has proposed a Regulation to replace the EU’s three public procurement directives and related sector-specific provisions with a single directly applicable framework. The proposal would reduce the number of procurement procedures from five to three, allow greater use of negotiations and market consultations, and introduce an innovation procedure for solutions not yet available on the market. It also proposes an integrated digital procurement marketplace linking Member States’ eProcurement platforms, enabling companies to submit tenders across the EU under a ‘once-only’ principle and supporting data-sharing, transparency and anti-fraud measures. The Commission estimates annual administrative savings of €650 million.

The European Commission has announced proposals for a new European Innovation Act to help innovative companies develop, finance and scale up across the EU. The proposals include a common framework for valuing intellectual property (IP), a digital marketplace to connect IP buyers and sellers, and expert support to help companies bring innovations to market. The Commission states that these measures are intended to improve access to finance for startups and scaleups whose IP assets may be difficult to value.

The European Commission has announced plans to revise EU regulations on environmental geospatial data and public access to environmental information through the 'GreenData4All' initiative. This proposal aims to facilitate increased data sharing between public and private sectors, as well as with the general public, to promote data-driven innovation and evidence-based decision-making. The Commission intends to present a proposal for a directive in the fourth quarter of 2025. A public consultation on the initiative is scheduled for 5 February to 30 April 2025.

The European Commission proposed on 7 March 2025 to amend annexes IV and V of Directive 92/43/EEC (Habitats Directive), aligning EU legislation with recent Bern Convention changes that downgraded wolves from 'strictly protected' to 'protected' status. The amendment, requiring European Parliament and Council approval, would allow Member States greater flexibility in managing wolf populations while maintaining conservation obligations. The change follows increasing conflicts between expanding wolf populations and livestock farming, though Member States must continue six-yearly reporting and ensure favourable conservation status is maintained.

The European Commission has proposed a Regulation to gradually end all Russian fossil fuel imports by the end of 2027, aiming to protect the EU's energy security and economic resilience. The Regulation sets deadlines for terminating gas imports under new and existing contracts and mandates Member States to submit national diversification plans. The proposal will now proceed through the co-decision legislative process involving the European Parliament and Council.

The European Commission has initiated a process to enable free and safe data flows between the EU and the European Patent Organisation (EPO) by proposing the first-ever EU adequacy decision for an international organisation. This decision, based on Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU's General Data Protection Regulation), aims to facilitate data transfers without additional safeguards.

The European Commission has proposed an amendment to the Market Stability Reserve (MSR) Decision to reinforce the stability and predictability of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). The proposal removes the current mechanism under which allowances held in the reserve above a threshold of 400 million are invalidated, allowing these allowances instead to be retained and used as a buffer to support market stability in periods of supply tightness.

The European Commission (Commission) proposed on 29 April 2026 a targeted amendment to the Waste Shipment Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2024/1157) to allow continued exports of mixed municipal waste for recovery to Switzerland, including for recycling or energy. The proposal aims to address the effect of a ban on such exports to non-EEA countries, including Switzerland. The ban will be taking effect on 21 May 2026 and would disrupt long-standing, sustainable waste management practices in regions bordering Switzerland, affecting approximately 200,000 tonnes of waste sent annually to Switzerland from these regions. Prohibition on exports for landfilling or incineration without energy recovery will continue. The European Parliament and Council will now consider the proposal.

The European Commission has proposed amending legislation updating common specifications (CS) for class D in vitro diagnostic devices that would provide harmonised standards for tests for certain parasites and viruses not already included in the CS but which are of public health concern. The Commission acknowledges that the use of CS laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1107 has demonstrated that there is a need to clarify some of those specifications or, where necessary, update them to reflect the state of the art. A draft Annex was published detailing qualitative and quantitative requirements for Nucleic Acid Amplification Technique devices for detecting hepatitis E and several arboviruses. The Annex also details requirements for devices used to detect certain parasites, such as Plasmodium spp., which causes malaria. It includes performance characteristic requirements for the tests, including their diagnostic and analytical sensitivities, diagnostic specificity, and cross-reactivity. The proposed implementing regulation would amend Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1107 which sets out the common specifications for class D in vitro diagnostic medical devices in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/746 (the In Vitro Diagnostic Regulation). The proposed amendments are open to comment for four weeks until 16 September 2024.