The Environment Agency (EA) has updated the Storm Overflow Assessment Framework (SOAF) guidance to improve clarity and consistency following its initial implementation. The changes clarify how spill data should be used to calculate the Valid Year Average (VYA), including the treatment of incomplete event duration monitoring (EDM) data and when the VYA may be reset following improvements. The EA also revised the Stage 2 water quality impact assessment and associated flowchart for the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations (UWWTR) SOAF process, added a definition of Population Equivalent, and provided further clarification on the cost-benefit assessment used to determine the best technical knowledge not entailing excessive costs (BTKNEEC).

The Environment Agency (EA) has updated the Water Resources Planning guideline to reflect changes in processes, approaches and updated links to associated guidance, research and documents. According to the updated guidance, any water company based in England or Wales must prepare and maintain a water resources management plan (WRMP) that outlines the steps required to secure a reliable supply for customers while ensuring a protected and enhanced environment. The duty to prepare and maintain a WRMP is detailed in sections 37A to 37D of the Water Industry Act 1991 (WIA 1991). The updated guidance specifies that a WRMP must be prepared at least once every five years and reviewed annually.

The Environment Agency (EA) has urged property and landowners to be vigilant in stopping waste criminals who dump illegally collected waste. Property and landowners are urged to check any empty land and property regularly, make sure it is secure and report any suspected illegal waste activity to the EA.

The Environment Agency (EA) has updated its policy paper on offence response options, with changes to the 'Waste offences' offence response options document, specifically adding a subsection on 'Section 45AZF(4)' offences under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and a new section on 'Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging and Packaging Waste) Regulations 2024' offences.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has launched an inquiry to examine the risks associated with Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS), often referred to as 'forever chemicals', in the UK. The inquiry will assess the ability of research institutions and the Environment Agency to detect and monitor the impacts of PFAS. Additionally, the EAC will review the UK's regulatory framework for the use and disposal of PFAS, assessing the adequacy of its chemical registration, evaluation, authorisation, and restriction processes. The inquiry will also compare the UK's approach with those of other jurisdictions, such as the EU and USA, to identify potential areas for improvement. The deadline for submitting evidence is 26 May 2025.

1. Have there been any recent developments regarding the EAC merger control regime and are any updates/developments expected in the coming year? Are there any other ‘hot’ merger control issues in the EAC? The merger control regime of the EAC is set out in the East African Community Competition Act, 2006 (as amended) (EAC Competition Act), and the East African Community Competition (Mergers and Acquisitions) Regulations, 2025 (EAC Merger Regulations). The East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA) is responsible for the implementation of the EAC Competition Act and EAC Merger Regulations. The partner states of the EAC include: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, the Republic of Kenya, the Republic of Burundi, the Republic of Rwanda, the Republic of South Sudan, the Republic of Uganda and the Federal Republic of Somalia (EAC Partner States). The EAC Competition Act is applicable to economic activities and sectors having a cross-border effect. A merger or acquisition is considered to have a cross-border effect if it involves undertakings that operate in two or more EAC Partner States. The

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has published the government’s response to its Seventh Carbon Budget (CB7) report, in which the government confirmed that it will ask Parliament to set CB7, covering 2038–2042, at the Climate Change Committee’s recommended level of 535 MtCO₂e, equivalent to an 87% reduction in emissions by 2040 compared with 1990 levels. The government accepted a number of the Committee’s recommendations on parliamentary scrutiny, including debating the draft Carbon Budget Order on the floor of the House of Commons, and stated that a detailed delivery plan will be developed following parliamentary approval. It also committed to considering the Committee’s recommendations on sectoral delivery pathways, infrastructure, skills, resource constraints and contingency planning, while emphasising that delivery will be supported through cross-government coordination. The response further states that the proposed budget is aligned with the UK’s domestic and international climate commitments, including pathways consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C, and outlines measures to support industrial decarbonisation, prevent carbon leakage, improve affordability, encourage public engagement and behaviour change, and strengthen the role of local authorities in delivering net zero.

The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has published a report on the UK’s contribution to tackling global deforestation highlighting the ‘intensity of UK consumption’ of the world’s forests. The EAC has noted that forests host 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity and that deforestation threatens this while contributing 11% of global carbon emissions. The EAC has welcomed the government’s intention to tackle the sustainability concerns of products through the Environment Act 2021 but has expressed concern regarding the ‘lack of urgency about the implementation of this regime’. The EAC has called for Ministers to develop a ‘Global Footprint Indicator’ to demonstrate the impact on the environment and recommends that the government strengthens the existing legislative framework to prohibit financial sector businesses from trading or using commodities linked to deforestation. The EAC has also suggested that more products need to be brought into the certification regime and that biodiversity considerations must be more consistently applied into trade agreements and operations.

The House of Lords European Affairs Committee (EAC) has published a letter sent to the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle, setting out the key conclusions and recommendations from the Committee’s inquiry into UK-EU data adequacy. The inquiry found that losing EU data adequacy status in June 2025 would impose significant costs and administrative burdens on businesses and organisations, raise barriers to international trade and economic co-operation and have a negative impact on Northern Ireland under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and the Windsor Framework Agreement. As such, the EAC states that the government should engage with the European Commission to ensure the adequacy status is renewed and seek to secure future adequacy renewal decisions which do not expire after a fixed period. In addition, it is recommended that the UK and the Commission ensure that the UK-EU data arrangements are compatible with Court of Justice case law, and that the government develops its policies on data and data-related matters taking account of the potential implications for the UK’s adequacy status and is mindful of the ways in which its international data protection policies may be a risk to the UK’s EU adequacy status.

The European Association of CCP Clearing Houses (EACH) has stated that EU and UK central counterparties clearing deliverable exchange-traded derivatives intend to support aligning the exercise and assignment process for deliverable equity derivatives to a T+1 settlement cycle, ahead of the European transition on 11 October 2027. This responds to market queries as to whether physical delivery would also move to T+1. EACH clarified that deliverable fixed income derivatives will continue to settle on a T+2 basis. It also indicated that individual CCPs will provide formal confirmation of their arrangements in due course.

The European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom): An international organisation which is legally distinct from the EU, but has the same membership, and is governed by the EU's institutions. It was established on 25 March 1957 (alongside the European Economic Community/EEC) by the Euratom Treaty, being taken over by the executive institutions of the EEC in 1967. See also Euratom Community.

The European Association of Hospital Pharmacists (EAHP) and the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries & Associations (EFPIA) have published joint guidance on single unit barcoding, setting out a phased approach for pharmaceutical manufacturers to add barcodes to individual medication doses in addition to existing pack-level coding. The guidance sets a 15-year implementation timeline, with all new products within scope expected to support single unit coding from 2031 and existing products to follow on a rolling basis. Studies cited by the organisations indicate that bedside scanning can reduce medication errors by 30–60%. By 2032, 50% of European hospitals are targeted to perform bedside scanning, rising to 80% by 2036. The guidance provides for basic coding containing the Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) product code and advanced coding additionally containing batch or lot information and the expiry date.