The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) and the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) have published an open general export licence for the export of dual-use items. The licence is granted under Article 26(4) of the Export Control Order 2008, SI 2008/3231, with a dual legal basis under assimilated Regulation (EC) 428/2009 for Great Britain and Regulation (EU) 2021/821 for Northern Ireland by virtue of the Windsor Framework. The licence authorises exports of Annex I items (as set out in the Regulation) from Great Britain to EU member states, 13 wider destinations including the United States, Australia and Japan, specified British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. Key exclusions include items subject to prohibited end-use controls under Article 4 of the Regulation, Annex IIg items (as set out in the Regulation) for England, Wales and Scotland, 0C003 items and destination-specific exclusions for Chile, Singapore, South Korea, Uruguay, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. Exporters must register via the online export licensing system SPIRE prior to first use and maintain records for a minimum of four years under Article 29 of the Order. Wassenaar Arrangement reporting obligations apply for permanent exports of Sensitive List and Very Sensitive List items to non-Wassenaar destinations, comprising Chile, Cyprus, Iceland, Singapore and Uruguay.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) and Department for Business and Trade have published the notice to exporters (NTE) 2024/01 on reminders of best practice for export license applications in 2024 and beyond. The NTE covers preparation of applications, contact details, requests for information, end user and stockist undertakings and applications, amendments to applications, timescales and contacting the ECJU Licensing Unit staff.

The Department for Business and Trade’s Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has published ‘Notice to exporters 2024/02: General Trade Licence Russia Sanctions – Vessels’, advising that a revised version of this General Licence comes into force on 18 January 2024. This General Licence provides for regulation of the provision of technical assistance, brokering services, financial services and funds, relating to vessels.

The Export Control Joint Unit (ECJU) has issued a Notice to Exporters 2025/07, announcing updates to the Open General Licence for AUKUS Nations. The revision aligns the licence with US excluded technologies lists by incorporating US technical terminology including 'manufacturing know-how', 'design methodology' and 'engineering analysis'. The update includes new definitions for these terms to narrow the scope of excluded technologies under the licence.

Export Control Organisation: Part of DIT. The ECO is responsible for legislating, assessing and issuing export, trade transhipment and trade control licences for specific categories of 'controlled' goods. This encompasses a wide range of items including so-called dual-use goods, torture goods, radioactive sources, as well as military items.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) publishes its proposed amendments to the EU's draft insolvency law harmonisation directive. The amendments extend simplified winding-up proceedings—originally designed for microenterprises—to all SMEs, strengthen employee protections in creditors' committees, and introduce mandatory data reporting requirements. The proposal includes  amendments aimed at improving efficiency of proceedings and ensuring fair representation of creditors' interests.

The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) adopted an opinion on 15 July 2025, proposing significant amendments to EU corporate sustainability reporting requirements. The opinion recommends increasing the reporting threshold to companies with over 5,000 employees and €450m in net worldwide turnover, replacing the current 1,000-employee threshold. For value chain reporting, companies would be prevented from seeking information from business partners below these thresholds, thereby significantly reducing reporting obligations.

The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has adopted a draft report on a proposed regulation amending Regulations (EU) No 1092/2010, (EU) No 1093/2010, (EU) No 1094/2010, (EU) No 1095/2010 and (EU) 2021/523 as regards certain reporting requirements in the fields of financial services and investment support. The proposed regulation aims to streamline reporting obligations and reduce the administrative burden for the EU’s financial sector. Alongside the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs), the Single Resolution Board (SRB) and the new European Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA) would be obliged to follow the rules under Parliamentary amendments. Negotiations will now begin with the Council of the EU.

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has adopted a proposal for the first stage of a European Deposit Insurance Scheme, operating as a liquidity scheme and providing loans to participating deposit insurance schemes. In the first stage, deposit guarantee schemes (DGS) would be shielded against local shocks, while a full insurance scheme across the EU remains the goal for a later stage. The new rules would only apply to banks which are members of participating DGSs. The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the 6-9 June 2024 European elections.

The European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has adopted the proposal for a harmonised framework for access to financial data at the EU level. The proposed Framework for Financial Data Access regulation (FIDA) aims to allow customers to keep their financial data safe and use them to access better financial service. The file will be followed up by the new Parliament after the 6-9 June 2024 European elections.

The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee (ECON) has voted to adopt the text of new rules for benchmarks which aim to protect financial stability, while reducing an administrative and regulatory burden for smaller benchmark providers. Plenary is expected to vote on the text during the second plenary session in April 2024, to close the first reading without agreement with the Council of the EU. Negotiations between Parliament and Council are then expected to start after the EU elections.

The European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) have published a draft report on the European Commission’s proposal to amend Directives 2014/65/EU (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive MiFID II)) and (EU) 2022/2557 (Critical Entities Resilience Directive (CERD)). The proposal seeks to extend certain mitigating measures available for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) and to introduce further simplification measures.