The Council of the EU has reached an agreement to move the revision of the EU Pharmaceutical Package into the final phase of interinstitutional negotiations. Led by the Polish Presidency, the agreement aims to advance equitable access and improve the security of medicine supply across all Member States. Medicines for Europe supported the move, highlighting provisions to harmonise the Bolar exemption, facilitate generic and biosimilar competition, and extend regulatory tools such as repurposing clauses to address public health needs like antimicrobial resistance. The organisation also backed aligning the reforms with the EMA’s extended mandate to mitigate medicine shortages. However, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) criticised the decision to reduce intellectual property protections, warning that it could deter investment and undermine pharmaceutical innovation in Europe. EFPIA urged EU institutions to adopt a more predictable and competitive framework to retain global leadership in life sciences.

The Special Committee on Agriculture has approved the Council's negotiating mandate on amendments to the Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation. The changes introduce mandatory written contracts between farmers and buyers, with exceptions for micro/small enterprises and transactions under €20,000. Long-term contracts will include a revision clause triggerable after 12 months, while member states can implement voluntary mediation mechanisms for contract disputes. A two-year transition period will apply following implementation. The Council will begin negotiations with the European Parliament once the latter finalises its position on the amendments.

The Council of the EU has agreed negotiating mandates on four legislative proposals forming part of the Commission’s fourth omnibus simplification package. The proposals aim to simplify product legislation by introducing digital-by-default requirements and a procedure for establishing common specifications, and to extend certain mitigation and support measures to small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs). The Council raised the proposed thresholds for SMCs to fewer than 1,000 employees and either up to €200m in turnover or €172m in annual balance sheet total. The directive transposition deadline was extended to 24 months. Following Coreper’s approval, the presidency will begin negotiations with the European Parliament to reach a final agreement.

The Council has adopted its negotiating position on proposed simplifications to Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) regulation). The position supports a new de minimis exemption threshold of 50 tonnes of imported goods per importer annually, replacing current provisions on goods of negligible value. Additional simplifications address authorisation procedures, data collection, emissions calculations, verification rules and third-country carbon price claims. The Council presidency will now begin negotiations with the European Parliament on the proposals, which aim to maintain 99% coverage of embedded emissions while reducing administrative burden. The changes form part of the 'Omnibus I' legislative package introduced on 26 February 2025.

The Council has approved a negotiating mandate for new rules aimed at combatting cross-border unfair trading practices in the agricultural and food supply chain. On 7 April 2025, member states' representatives in the Special Committee on Agriculture (SCA) agreed on the regulation. This initiative aims to protect farmers and strengthen their position in the food supply chain.

The Council of the EU has agreed its position on a regulation to prevent and combat child sexual abuse online. The regulation establishes obligations for digital companies to prevent dissemination of child sexual abuse material and solicitation of children, with national authorities empowered to require content removal, access blocking or search result delisting. Online service providers will be required to assess risks that their services could be misused and implement mitigating measures, with services classified into high, medium or low-risk categories based on objective criteria. The regulation establishes the EU Centre on Child Sexual Abuse, a new agency to support member states and providers in implementation, maintain databases of reports and indicators, and share information with Europol and national law enforcement. The measure makes permanent the current temporary exemption allowing companies to voluntarily scan services for child sexual abuse material, which was due to expire on 3 April 2026. Companies must provide assistance to victims seeking removal of material depicting them. Based on the Council's agreement reached on 26 November 2025, negotiations with the European Parliament can commence to finalise the regulation, with the Parliament having reached its position in November 2023.

The Council of the EU has agreed its negotiating position on simplifying corporate sustainability reporting and due diligence requirements, aiming to reduce administrative burdens and improve legal certainty for businesses. The proposal forms part of the European Commission’s ‘Omnibus I’ simplification package and responds to calls from EU leaders to streamline legislation and reduce compliance costs, particularly for smaller companies. It focuses on targeted amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU) 2022/2464 (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (EU) 2024/1760 (CS3D) and maintains the Commission’s proposal to remove harmonised civil liability rules while extending the transposition deadline for the CS3D to 26 July 2028.

The Council of the EU has approved a position to postpone battery due diligence obligations under Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 by two years, from 18 August 2025 to 18 August 2027. The proposal, part of the Commission's Omnibus IV simplification package, also changes reporting requirements from annual to three-yearly intervals. The Commission will publish due diligence guidelines one year before obligations take effect. The Council presidency will now enter negotiations with the European Parliament to finalise the agreement.

The Council of the EU has agreed to extend the application timeline of Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (the EU Deforestation Regulation) by 12 months. This decision allows third countries, Member States, traders, and operators more time to meet due diligence requirements, which seek to ensure deforestation-free products, such as cattle, wood, and cocoa, are placed on the EU market or exported from the EU. If approved by the European Parliament, the new application dates of the EU Deforestation Regulation will be 30 December 2025 for large operators and traders, and 30 June 2026 for micro and small enterprises, allowing for smoother implementation.

The Council of the EU has adopted its position on the revision of the EU regulations on air passenger rights and airline liability, aiming to create a clearer and more robust framework for protecting passengers. Led by Dariusz Klimczak, Minister of Infrastructure of Poland, the Council’s agreement seeks to address longstanding gaps and ambiguities by introducing over 30 rights that apply from ticket purchase through to post-arrival. These include clarified entitlements to rerouting, assistance, compensation, and information. Passengers will have a right to rerouting via other carriers or alternative transport, and may claim up to 400% of the ticket cost if rerouting is not offered within three hours. Minimum assistance must be provided during delays, and disembarkation is mandated after three hours on the tarmac. Compensation levels have been revised based on journey length, with stricter criteria for rejecting claims on the basis of ‘extraordinary circumstances’. Enhanced information duties require airlines to notify passengers of their rights at booking and to respond to complaints within 14 days. The Council’s position will now proceed to the European Parliament for consideration at second reading.

The Council of the European Union and the European Parliament have reached a provisional deal to expand and upgrade the use of digital tools within EU company law. The deal sees new rules to the use of company’s data, providing for easy accessibility, and enhancing trust and transparency in companies across Member States. The governing bodies hope to create a more integrated and digitalised single market for companies by significantly reducing red-tape and help companies focus more on their core business rather than paperwork. The provisional agreement will now need to be endorsed and formally adopted by both institutions.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement to revise Regulation (EU) 2023/1115 (EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)), introducing targeted amendments to its application and extending key implementation deadlines. Under the agreed approach, the obligation to submit a due diligence statement would apply only to the operator who first places a product on the EU market. Subsequent operators in the supply chain would no longer submit their own statements and would instead rely on the reference number associated with the original declaration. For micro and small primary operators, the revision provides for a single simplified declaration rather than repeated reporting. The scope of the regulation is also adjusted, with printed products such as books, newspapers and printed pictures removed.