The EU’s external responsibilities are defined in accordance with whether they are conferred on the EU or on the Member States. These responsibilities are: • exclusive—where exercised entirely by the Union (for example, the common agricultural policy), or • shared—where they may be exercised either by the Union or by Member States (for example, transport policy) The distinction has been defined in the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union and is based on the principle of implicit powers, whereby external competence derives from the existence of explicit internal competence. This case law is established by Article 216 TFEU which sets out that the Union is competent to conclude an agreement where: • the EU Treaties so provide • the conclusion of an agreement is necessary in order to achieve one of the objectives referred to in the Treaties • the conclusion of an agreement is provided for in a legally binding act • the conclusion of an agreement is likely to affect common rules or alter their scope With

Law360: The European Commission has asked its 27 member states not to stand in the way of proposed reforms to a contested cross-border agreement that protects fossil fuel investments, saying the EU's approval of the reforms would hasten the EU's departure from the pact.

Law360, London: EU farmers will get safeguards, as well as a €6.3bn emergency fund to shield them from possible market shocks under the EU-Mercosur trade deal, the European Commission has said. The EU executive published the final texts of the Mercosur and Mexico agreements on 3 September 2025, moving them to governments and lawmakers for approval. The flagship EU-Mercosur deal would cut tariffs gradually and create a market of 700 million people, but will face opposition from farmers, from several EU capitals and from lawmakers.

Law360, London: Lawmakers in the EU have adopted a decision agreeing that the Energy Charter Treaty's arbitration clause 'cannot and never could serve as a legal basis for intra-EU arbitration proceedings'.

MLex: EU finance ministers tried to settle the financial services issues that they want included in a capital markets union action plan on 16 February 2024. They will discuss a draft statement prepared as part of the process of setting out key reforms required of the next European Commission, in a bid to agree a final version to be prepared for adoption at a meeting on 11 March 2024.

Law360: EU finance ministers agreed on 14 May 2024 to a withholding tax refund law, as previous holdouts Poland and the Czech Republic withdrew their objections.

MLex: ESAs to run voluntary dry run exercise to prepare industry for the next stage of DORA implementation. Statement follows.

MLex Summary: The rules on the notification and reporting of major ICT-related incidents, and on the notification of significant cyber threats under the Digital Operational Resilience Act were today published in the EU's Official Journal. The rules provide details on the standard forms, templates, and procedures for financial entities' reporting and notification. The rules enter into force on the 20th day following their publication in the EU's official bulletin.

MLex: Mairead McGuinness, the current European Commissioner in charge of banking and financial services policy, is unlikely to return to the European Commission for another term, MLex understands.

This Practice Note provides an introduction to reliance by financial services firms on legal obligation or legitimate interest as a lawful ground for processing personal data under the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (EU GDPR). For general information on the EU GDPR, see Practice Note: The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). Lawful grounds for data processing under the GDPR—summary for financial services firms Definitions Personal data: any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (data subject)—an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person. Processing: any operation or set of operations which is performed on personal data or on sets of personal data, whether or not by automated means, such as collection, recording,

Background The EU’s current framework for screening foreign direct investments (FDI), Regulation (EU) 2019/452, was proposed by the European Commission (Commission) on 13 September 2017, adopted by the European Parliament and Council on 19 March 2019 and has applied since 11 October 2020. It remains the applicable framework until 17 January 2028, subject to the transitional arrangements described below. Regulation (EU) 2019/452 did not create a centralised EU filing or approval regime. It established a cooperation mechanism allowing Member States and the European Commission (Commission) to exchange information and raise concerns about investments likely to affect security or public order, with Member States retaining the final say on whether investments in their territory are allowed. The new regime On 24 January 2024, the Commission proposed a new Regulation on the screening of foreign investments in the Union, repealing Regulation (EU) 2019/452. Regulation (EU) 2026/1386 was adopted on 17 June 2026 and published on 26 June 2026. The revised rules strengthen and further harmonise investment screening across the EU, including through mandatory national

This tracker tracks the trade agreements the EU has negotiated and which are in effect. It includes interim agreements which cater for trade whilst negotiations on a final free trade agreement is underway or until a final free trade agreement takes effect. It also includes agreements with a trade component although it might not constitute a comprehensive free trade agreement. Country Agreement Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement Algeria Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement Andorra Customs Union Antigua