The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on proposed changes to EU rules on the production and marketing of plant reproductive material (PRM). These changes will modernise legislation which, in some cases, has not been significantly updated since the 1960s. The new rules will increase agrobiodiversity, support conservation and locally adapted varieties and give breeders, professional operators and non-professional operators greater flexibility. The rules also aim to ensure that PRM placed on the EU market is high quality, reliable and adapted to environmental and climate challenges. The agreement must still be endorsed by the Council and Parliament before formal adoption and entry into force. It will apply four years later.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on targeted amendments to the (EU) 2022/362 (Eurovignette Directive) to clarify the rules on road tolls and user charges for heavy-duty vehicles. The amendments are intended to strengthen legal certainty, simplify implementation and ensure the consistent application of CO₂-based charging rules alongside the new CO₂ emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles that will apply from 1 July 2026. They clarify key definitions relating to CO₂ emissions, including zero-emission and low-emission vehicles, vehicle groups, emission reduction trajectories and reference CO₂ emissions, clarify the classification of vocational vehicles such as refuse collection and construction vehicles, and allow member states to apply reduced user or infrastructure charges for low-emission vehicles while continuing to support the uptake of zero-emission vehicles. The agreement also removes the proposed system of varying road charges based on the use of more sustainable trailers, citing concerns about increased administrative burdens, greater complexity for tolling systems and impacts on electronic toll services, while requesting the European Commission to assess any remaining obstacles. The provisional agreement must now be endorsed by the Council and the European Parliament before formal adoption following legal and linguistic revision.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached an agreement on the EU’s annual budget for 2026, amounting to €192.8bn in commitments and €190.1bn in payments, equivalent to 1.00% and 0.99% of the Union’s gross national income respectively. The budget prioritises competitiveness, defence readiness, humanitarian aid and migration management, while maintaining flexibility to respond to unforeseen crises. Within the 2021–27 multiannual financial framework, €715.7m remains available for unexpected expenditure, with allocations across key areas including the single market, cohesion, environment, security and global engagement. As the sixth annual budget under the current framework, it complements the EU’s coronavirus (COVID-19) recovery plan under NextGenerationEU. The agreement will now proceed to formal approval by both institutions, with the Council expected to endorse it on 24 November 2025 by qualified majority.

The Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a provisional agreement on a regulation establishing a digital declaration system for posted workers, requiring the European Commission to create a multilingual online interface for the electronic submission of posting declarations. The voluntary system will enable participating Member States to use a common platform and standard declaration form, reducing administrative burdens for businesses, improving compliance with EU rules on posted workers, and strengthening enforcement by national authorities. The agreement also allows the electronic submission of supporting documents, facilitates communication between authorities and service providers, provides workers with access to electronic copies of their declarations, and extends the system’s potential use to declarations submitted by non-EU service providers. The Commission will review the effectiveness of the platform and the suitability of the information requirements five years after implementation. The measure forms part of the EU’s ‘One Europe, One Market’ roadmap and aims to simplify cross-border service provision while enhancing administrative cooperation and the protection of workers’ rights.

The Council of the European Union and European Parliament have announced a provisional agreement on new regulations aimed at reducing microplastic pollution by preventing the loss of plastic pellets into the environment. The new rules will improve the handling of plastic pellets throughout the supply chain, both on land and at sea. The legislation requires operators handling plastic pellets to obtain mandatory certification and implement containment measures across the supply chain. Companies are required to report pellet losses and maintain emergency response plans. The regulation becomes applicable two years after publication, with maritime transport provisions delayed by an additional year.

The Council of the EU has announced that it has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament on new rules to strengthen the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). The rules will create a standalone legal framework for ECHA, consolidating its expanded responsibilities under a single regulation and setting out its role under different EU laws. The agreement also updates ECHA’s structure to help it manage its growing workload by ensuring that Member States nominate experts to its scientific committees. In addition, it allows the European Parliament or Member States, after consulting the European Commission, to request scientific opinions from ECHA. The rules will replace ECHA’s three separate budgets with a single budget, giving ECHA greater flexibility to manage its resources, and establish a reserve fund to help address fluctuations in fee income, with the Commission able to adjust its size if needed. The agreement also introduces rules to prevent and manage conflicts of interest involving ECHA staff and experts to help safeguard ECHA’s independence and credibility.

The Council of the EU has announced that the 28th meeting of the Accession Conference with Montenegro has provisionally closed accession negotiations on Chapter 8 (Competition Policy) and Chapter 29 (Customs Union), bringing the total number of provisionally closed negotiating chapters to 18. The Council states that Montenegro has met the closing benchmarks for both chapters, reflecting progress in aligning its legislation, administrative capacity and implementation with the EU acquis, while noting that monitoring will continue throughout the accession negotiations and that the EU may, if necessary, return to these chapters before accession.

The Council of the EU has announced that its has reached a provisional agreement with the European Parliament to revise the directive on package travel, aiming to make traveller protection more effective by strengthening consumers’ rights, clarifying organisers’ obligations and reducing burdens for operators. The agreement introduces a clarified definition of ‘package travel’, removes linked travel arrangements from scope and sets enhanced information requirements before, during and after a trip, including payment methods, visa and passport rules, accessibility for travellers with reduced mobility and termination fees. It also requires organisers to maintain complaint-handling arrangements and improves the information travellers must receive in the event of organiser insolvency.

The Council of the EU has given final approval to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) simplification package, known as 'Omnibus III', which amends the strategic plan regulation and horizontal regulation on agricultural policy. The legislation, proposed by the Commission in May 2025, aims to reduce administrative costs by up to €1.6bn annually for farmers and over €200m for member states. The package allows crisis payments for farmers affected by natural disasters, provides flexibility on environmental standards for organic farms, and reduces on-the-spot checks. The act will be published in the EU's official journal within days and enter into force the following day.

The Council of the EU has, by giving its final approval, adopted the Regulation on data collection and sharing for short-term rentals. The new rules enhance transparency and data collection requirements for hosts and short-term rental properties by granting unique registration numbers which are to be displayed on property websites, simplifying the process to obtain registration numbers and requiring online platforms to regularly provide information to Member Sates on the rental activities of their hosts to produce reliable statistics and carry out well-informed regulatory measures. After the Regulation is signed by the Presidents of the European Parliament and the Council, it will enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on climate finance ahead of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024 (COP 29). In the conclusions, the Council underlines that the EU and its Member States are committed to the current goal of developed countries to collectively mobilise US$100bn per year in climate finance until 2025. This goal was met for the first time in 2022.

The Council of the EU has given final approval to a compulsory licensing regulation allowing certain intellectual property rights, including patents, to be used without holders' consent during crises to ensure availability of critical products like vaccines and protective equipment. The regulation prioritises voluntary agreements and positions compulsory licensing as a last-resort measure, while ensuring IP holders have no obligation to disclose trade secrets. The legislation still requires European Parliament approval before entering into force 20 days after Official Journal publication.