The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on the future of cybersecurity aiming to provide guidance and setting the principles towards building a more cybersecure and more resilient EU. The Council also indicates that rules in sectoral legislation should avoid fragmentation and make clear roles and responsibilities in the cyber domain. In light of the changed and rising threat level, the Council finally invites the European Commission and the High Representative to present a revised cybersecurity strategy.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions guiding the implementation of the 2030 Consumer Agenda, calling for stronger consumer protection, particularly online, greater promotion of sustainable consumption, improved cross border enforcement, and regulatory simplification. Emphasising that consumer protection and competitiveness are mutually reinforcing, the Council highlights the need to address digital challenges such as dark patterns and unsafe online products, especially to protect vulnerable consumers like minors, while ensuring effective application of existing EU consumer and digital rules. It also stresses combating greenwashing, supporting circular economy products such as second hand and refurbished goods, enhancing cooperation between the Commission and national authorities, exploring the use of AI for market surveillance, and reducing administrative burdens for SMEs without lowering consumer protection standards.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on a European Court of Auditors’ (ECA) special report, which aims to enhance the EU’s AI ambitions by strengthening governance and ensuring investment in AI. The Council agreed with the ECA’s point that, for the EU to be a globally competitive actor and lead in the development and deployment of AI, investment in AI needs to be scaled up, and access to digital infrastructure should be facilitated. The Council also agreed that measurable performance targets and indicators for AI are needed to boost competitiveness in the EU if the results of research and innovation projects are commercialised or exploited directly or indirectly, and it highlighted the environmental impact of AI systems, high-performance computing, and potential solutions to boost energy efficiency in the EU.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on the EU’s electricity grid infrastructure, which propose various measures for an interconnected and resilient electricity network to ensure energy security and achieve decarbonisation in the EU. The Council conclusions also emphasised the urgency for long-term, coordinated electricity grid infrastructure planning especially with the rising challenge of network congestion and called on the European Commission to examine and highlight gaps and develop measures to enhance the governance framework, among other things.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on promoting geothermal energy and called for faster deployment by proposing or adapting measures for its promotion, such as easier access to finance and enhancing the workforce in the geothermal sector. It has called on the European Commission to draw up a comprehensive strategy on the decarbonisation of heating and cooling, to be accompanies by a European geothermal action plan with measures to accelerate the deployment of geothermal energy. The Council has also called on Member States to streamline their rules to make geothermal energy easier to use and to issue permits faster, facilitate projects which reconvert underground fossil facilities to use them for geothermal energy and make access to financial schemes easier. Finally, the conclusions also foresee a European Geothermal Alliance to bring together policymakers, industry and investors to identify bottlenecks and actions to increase deployment of geothermal energy.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on green diplomacy which affirm the EU’s commitment to promote a just and inclusive green transition as well as support the implementation of global commitments in this regard. In its conclusions, the Council reiterates the gravity of the accelerating triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, which poses a global and existential threat and aggravates existing security concerns. Amongst other things, the conclusions also point out the importance of implementing the global commitments agreed upon at the UN Climate Conference in Dubai (COP28) and in the Global Biodiversity Framework to secure a sustainable future for all. EU green diplomacy will support the transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, in line with the outcomes of the Global Stocktake under the Paris Agreement. In view of raising global methane emissions, the Council calls for concrete measures to be taken by all partner countries in this regard.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions on the EU maritime industrial strategy, recognising the strategic importance of the maritime manufacturing and shipping sectors to the EU's competitiveness, resilience, economic security, defence readiness and decarbonisation objectives. It says the sector faces challenges including increasing global competition, geopolitical tensions, strategic dependencies on third countries, decarbonisation requirements and labour shortages. Member States called for measures to strengthen competitiveness, support investment, reduce strategic dependencies and promote innovation across the maritime sector.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions to ensure the supply of medical radioisotopes, with the aim of meeting the increasing need for therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals. The Council's conclusions urge the Commission to monitor and forecast the demand and supply for all relevant medical radioisotopes, to research, to innovate on medical radioisotopes and similar topics and to assess the framework for transporting medical radioisotopes.

The Council of the EU has approved conclusions aimed at tackling labour and skills shortages across the EU. The Council has called on Member States to enhance support for training and education, particularly focusing on underrepresented groups in the labour market. The approved measures include providing up- and reskilling opportunities, addressing barriers to labour market participation, combating gender stereotypes, and promoting fair working conditions. This initiative follows the European Commission's action plan published in March 2024 and forms part of the broader European Year of Skills programme.

The Council of the European Union has approved a negotiating mandate on a European Commission proposal aimed at shortening the settlement cycle for transferable securities from two business days (T+2) to one business day (T+1) under the EU Central Securities Depositories Regulation (Regulation (EU) 909/2014). The Council of the EU’s proposal  differs from that of the Commission in that it seeks to exempt securities financing transactions from the change. Interinstitutional negotiations with the European Parliament are to commence in order to reach a common position, with the new rules scheduled to take effect on 11 October 2027.

The Council of the European Union has adopted new rules aimed at strengthening farmers’ position in the EU food supply chain. The measures introduce changes affecting negotiations between farmers and buyers such as processors and retailers and the distribution of value within the chain. The reform includes amendments to the regulation on the common market organisation (CMO) of agricultural products and related adjustments to the common agricultural policy (CAP) including making written contracts standard practice requiring review clauses to account for market developments and simplifying procedures for the recognition of producer organisations alongside provisions supporting collective action through CAP funding. It also establishes common criteria for voluntary marketing terms such as ‘fair’ and ‘short supply chain’ and sets out updated rules on the use of the term ‘meat’ reserving it for animal-based products and addressing potentially misleading marketing practices. These measures complement existing rules on unfair trading practices and relate to income stability value distribution and transparency in the food supply chain. The act will be signed and published in the Official Journal of the European Union before entering into force with provisions on meat designations applying after a three-year transition period.

The Council of the EU has approved amendments to the Capital Requirements Regulation (Regulation (EU) 575/2013) to make permanent the transitional required stable funding (RSF) factors for certain short-term securities financing transactions (SFTs) used in calculating the net stable funding ratio (NSFR). The decision ensures these RSF factors remain below those set by the Basel III standards, supporting liquidity and market stability for EU banks. It also aims to prevent a competitive disadvantage for EU banks, as many non-EU jurisdictions already apply lower permanent SFT factors. The amendments will be published in the EU’s Official Journal and take effect from 29 June 2025. The European Banking Authority will monitor and report on their impact every five years.