The European Commission has informed Apple of its preliminary view that its App Store rules are in breach of the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA) as they prevent app developers from freely steering consumers to alternative channels for offers and content. These preliminary findings are without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation as Apple has the possibility to exercise its rights of defence by examining the documents in the Commission's investigation file and replying in writing. In addition, the Commission has opened a new non-compliance procedure against Apple over concerns that its new contractual requirements for third-party app developers and app stores, including Apple's new 'Core Technology Fee', fall short of ensuring effective compliance with Apple's obligations under the DMA.

The European Commission has informed Meta of its preliminary findings that its 'pay or consent' advertising model fails to comply with the EU Digital Markets Act (EU DMA). The Commission is of the opinion that this binary choice forces users to consent to the use of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalised but equivalent version of Meta's social networks. Under Article 5(2) of the EU DMA, Meta's model does not allow users to opt for a service that uses less of their personal data but is otherwise equivalent to the 'personalised ads' based service, and also does not allow users to exercise their right to freely consent to the combination of their personal data. Meta now has the opportunity to exercise its right of defence, and the Commission will conclude its investigation within 12 months from the opening of proceedings on 25 March 2024.

The European Commission has published a staff working document setting out the findings of its evaluation of Regulation (EU) 461/2010 (the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER)) and its Supplementary Guidelines (SGL), concluding that the rules remain fit for purpose and continue to support competition in the motor vehicle sector.

The European Commission has imposed a €797.72m fine on Meta for violating EU antitrust rules. The company was found to have abused its dominant position in personal social networks and online display advertising markets, in breach of Article 102 TFEU. Meta's infractions include tying Facebook Marketplace to its social network and imposing unfair trading conditions on competing online classified ads services. The Commission has ordered Meta to cease these practices and refrain from similar conduct in future. The fine, determined under the Commission's 2006 guidelines, considered the duration and gravity of the infringement, as well as Meta's turnover. This ruling follows formal proceedings initiated in June 2021 and a Statement of Objections issued in December 2022.

The European Commission has announced that it hosted the first meeting of the AI board on 10 September 2024, following the EU AI Act’s entry into force on 1 August 2024. The AI board is comprised of representatives from the Commission and Member States and focuses on the development of AI in the EU. The meeting, which follows a preparatory session hosted by the Commission on 19 June, focused on the establishment and adoption of the AI boards’ rules of procedure, strategic discussions around the EU AI policy (including the GenAI4EU initiative and international AI activities), the implementation of the EU AI Act, and best practices for national approaches to AI governance.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy has implemented revised ecodesign rules for electrical appliances' standby power consumption, effective from 9 May 2025. The regulations, formally adopted in April 2023, extends power consumption limits to low voltage external power supplies and introduces first-time restrictions for motor-operated furniture and building elements. The rules mandate new consumer information requirements regarding standby mode consumption and will be implemented in two phases over four years. The regulation repeals Commission Regulation (EC) No 107/2009 regarding simple set-top boxes and applies only to new products placed on the EU market from the implementation date.

The European Commission has imposed definitive anti-dumping duties ranging from 29.2% to 124.9% on imports of glyoxylic acid from China. This decision follows an investigation, initiated on 25 July 2024 after a complaint by WeylChem Lamotte SAS—the sole EU producer—that found evidence of dumping causing material injury to the EU industry.The implementing regulation specifies the following duty rates for glyoxylic acid with a minimum purity of 95%: 29.2% for Hubei Hongyuan Pharmaceutical Technology, 57.3% for Xinjiang Guolin New Materials, 64% for other cooperating companies and 124.9% for all other Chinese producers. The regulation also includes an end-use exemption for glyoxylic acid employed in producing formaldehyde-free, sulfur-based reducing agents with an iron content between 10 and 20 parts per million. Additionally, the application of individual duty rates requires the presentation of a valid commercial invoice that includes a specific declaration to customs authorities.

The European Commission has imposed definitive countervailing duties on imports of mobile access equipment (MAE) from China on 25 April 2025. The Commission’s anti-subsidy investigation revealed that unfair Chinese subsidies, including land use rights below fair value, preferential financing and tax reductions, made it difficult for the EU industry to compete with imports from China and resulted in significant market share losses, despite a strong increase in demand for MAE. The anti-subsidy duties imposed to level the playing field range from 7.3% to 14.2% and come on top of anti-dumping duties imposed in imports of MAE from China in January 2025. The total combined anti-dumping and countervailing duties now range between 20.6% and 66.7%. The EU MAE market is worth more than €1bn yearly.

The European Commission has imposed provisional countervailing duties on imports of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) from China, nine months after the initiation of an ex officio anti-subsidy investigation. The Commission has concluded that the BEV value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidisation, which is causing a threat of economic injury to EU BEV producers. Additionally, the investigation has examined the likely consequences and impact of these measures on importers, users and consumers of BEVs in the EU. The Commission has said that any negotiated outcome to the investigation must be effective in addressing the injurious forms of subsidisation identified.

The European Commission has informed X, formerly known as Twitter, of its preliminary view that it is in breach of the EU Digital Services Act (EU DSA) in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers. Based on an in-depth investigation that included, among others, the analysis of internal company documents, interviews with experts, as well as cooperation with national Digital Services Coordinators, the Commission has issued preliminary findings of non-compliance on three grievances. First, as X designs and operates its interface for 'verified accounts' with the 'Blue checkmark' in a way that does not correspond to industry practice, in the Commission's assessment, X deceives users. Second, the Commission considers that X does not comply with the required transparency on advertising, as it does not provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository, but instead put in place design features and access barriers that make the repository unfit for its transparency purpose towards users. Third, in the Commission's view, X fails to provide access to its public data to researchers in line with the conditions set out in the EU DSA, in particular, with a prohibition on eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping, as stated in its terms of service. This preliminary finding is without prejudice to the outcome of the investigation as X can exercise its rights of defence by examining the documents in the Commission's investigation file and by replying in writing to the Commission's preliminary findings.

The European Commission has initiated an anti-dumping investigation concerning imports of epoxy resins originating in the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan and Thailand, pursuant to Article 5 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union, as amended (the basic AD Regulation), with a view to the imposition of anti-dumping measures for a five-year period pursuant to a complaint by the Ad Hoc Coalition of union Epoxy Resin producers. The complaint alleges that these imports of epoxy resins are being dumped and are thereby causing injury to the Union's industry. The investigation of dumping and injury will cover the period from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024.

The European Commission has published findings from its evaluation of Commission Regulation (EU) No 316/2014 (the Technology Transfer Block Exemption Regulation or TTBER) and accompanying Guidelines. The Commission has determined that while the rules have been largely effective, improvements are needed in areas such as market share thresholds, data licensing, and technology pools. The Commission will now launch an impact assessment to explore policy options for revising the rules before their expiration in April 2026. A public consultation is planned for December 2024, allowing stakeholders to provide input on potential changes to ensure the rules remain fit for purpose in the evolving technological landscape.