The European Commission has adopted a Communication on the prudential treatment of investment in equities by banks under legislative programmes in the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR). The Communication aims to ensure the consistent application of this provision across the single market and ultimately increase equity investment while maintaining the soundness of the banking sector. The Communication also establishes a dedicated registry that will be made available on the Finance website to provide transparency on legislative programmes that meet the criteria of CRR.

The European Commission has adopted a Communication highlighting its strategic vision to promote the internal development and use of lawful and trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems, as it awaits for the implementation of the EU AI Act. The Communication includes actions and measures the Commission will take to build institutional and operational capacity to ensure safe, transparent, and human-centred use of AI in its work. The Commission is also getting ready to collaborate with EU public administrations, innovative startups and GovTech companies.

The European Commission has adopted a Communication on countering threats posed by unlawful and dangerous use of drones that are designed for civil use. The Communication sets out a comprehensive EU counter-drone policy that aims to ensure that rapid technological developments and the growing number of drones do not lead to an uncontrolled increase in threats in civil space. It also aims to provide a harmonised policy framework and build a common understanding of applicable procedures to face the continuously evolving threats. The Communication is accompanied by two handbooks developed by the Commission's Joint Research Centre which entail practical guidance on key technical aspects of the EU Drone Policy. The activities outlined in the Communication cover the period until 2030. By 2027, there will be a mid-term stocktaking, while a full revision of the EU's counter-drone programme is planned by 2030 at the latest.

The European Commission has adopted Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/...  of 23.10.24 supplementing DORA with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the content and time limits for the initial notification of, and intermediate and final report on, major ICT-related incidents, and the content of the voluntary notification for significant cyber threats; Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) …/...  of 23 October 2024 laying down implementing technical standards for the application of DORA with regard to the standard forms, templates, and procedures for financial entities to report a major ICT-related incident and to notify a significant cyber threat; and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) …/...  of 24.10.24 supplementing DORA with regard to regulatory technical standards on harmonisation of conditions enabling the conduct of the oversight activities.

The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (Markets in Crypto-assets Regulation (MiCA)) with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the minimum contents of the liquidity management policy and procedures for certain issuers of asset-referenced tokens and e-money tokens. The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the 20th day after its publication in the OJ.

The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation to amend the list of high-risk third countries laid down in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675. The Delegated Act follows the recommendations of the international standard-setter, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Where a country’s membership to FATF is suspended because of gross violations of FATF’s core principles, the threat to the EU financial system is likely to increase. The Delegated Act requires the Commission to conclude an assessment of whether such a country is a high risk third country by 31 December 2025. The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the 20th day of its publication in the OJ.

The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 575/2013 (Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR)) with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the conditions for assessing the materiality of extensions of, and changes to, the use of alternative internal models, and changes to the subset of the modellable risk factors. The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the 20th day of its publication in the OJ.

The European Commission has adopted a Delegated Regulation supplementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (Markets in Cryptoassets Regulation (MiCA)) with regard to regulatory technical standards specifying the information in an application for authorisation to offer asset-referenced tokens to the public or to seek their admission to trading. The Delegated Regulation enters into force on the 20th day following its publication in the OJ. MiCA empowers the Commission to adopt delegated act to further specify the information relating to the content of the application for authorisation to offer to the public or to seek admission to trading of asset-referenced tokens. The Delegated Act specifies information relating to, among other things:  the applicant issuer, business model, strategy and risk profile, internal control framework and shareholders.

The European Commission has adopted the Commission Delegated Regulation of 19.7.2024 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2015/760 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards (RTS) specifying when derivatives will be used solely for hedging the risks inherent to other investments of the European long-term investment fund (ELTIF), the requirements for an ELTIF’s redemption policy and liquidity management tools, the circumstances for the matching of transfer requests of units or shares of the ELTIF, certain criteria for the disposal of ELTIF assets, and certain elements of the costs disclosure.

The European Commission has adopted a Recommendation on measures to combat counterfeiting and to improve the enforcement of intellectual property (IP) rights, following its 2022 consultation. The Recommendation, which is also known as the 'EU toolbox against counterfeiting', will promote collaboration between rights holders, service providers, and law enforcement, as well as motivating best practices and the use of modern tools and technologies. The Recommendation proposes several key actions to enhance IP enforcement, including designating a single contact point, encouraging signatories in the Memorandum of Understanding, adapting procedures to counter new counterfeiting practices, promoting alternative dispute resolution for IP disputes, reassessing maximum sanctions for serious criminal IP offences, empowering market surveillance authorities, developing practices for storage and disposal of counterfeits, adapting IP practices to artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual worlds, and integrating IP content into education curricula. For small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), specific tools are proposed, including the IP scan enforcement voucher under the SME Fund, a Cybertheft Prevention Toolkit, and guidance on using AI without compromising intangible assets.

The European Commission has adopted a new Regulation to establish an EU-wide scheme to rate the sustainability of EU data centres (first phase). Under the recast Energy Efficiency Directive, this secondary legislation requires data centre operators to report the key performance indicators to the European database by 15 September 2024 and then by 15 May in 2025 and subsequent years. Under Article 12 of the recast Energy Efficiency Directive, data centres will be required to publish information on their energy performance and sustainability. An estimation of 3% of EU electricity demand is accounted for through data centres, which is likely to significantly grow in upcoming years, with the scheme aiming to increase transparency, promote new designs, efficiency developments in aims to reduce energy and water consumption, promote the use of renewable energy, increase grid efficiency, and the reuse of waste heat in nearby facilities and heat networks. The delegated Regulation includes the information and key performance indicators which are to be reported. It also explains the first sustainability indicators that will be used for the rating of data centres.

The European Commission has adopted the first European Common Criteria-based cybersecurity certification scheme (EUCC), in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/881 (the EU Cybersecurity Act). The scheme provides a Union-wide set of rules and plans on how to certify information and communication technology products in their lifecycle to make them more trustworthy for users. The EUCC will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union shortly and will come into force 20 days after publication. The Commission will also publish the first Union Rolling Work Programme for European cybersecurity certification, which lays out a strategic vision and reflections on areas for future European cybersecurity certification schemes.