The European Parliament has adopted a Regulation which introduces measures to reduce plastic and unnecessary packaging, specific 2030 reuse targets for alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and strict criteria for all packaging (with certain exceptions including textile and rubber). Through these measures, the Regulation aims to tackle growing waste, harmonise internal market rules and boost circular economy. After the Council of the EU formally approves the Regulation, it will enter into force.

The European Parliament has adopted a legislative resolution, amending Regulation (EU) No 909/2014 to mandate securities settlement within one business day of trading (T+1), replacing the existing two-day requirement. The regulation, which exempts certain documented securities financing transactions, will come into effect on 11 October 2027. This change is designed to reduce counterparty risks, align the EU with global markets transitioning to T+1, and bolster the competitiveness of the EU capital markets. The European Securities and Markets Authority will oversee settlement efficiency throughout the transition period.

The European Parliament has adopted its first reading position on a proposal to amend Regulation (EU) 909/2014 to shorten the securities settlement cycle from two business days (T+2) to one business day (T+1), with the change set to apply from 11 October 2027. The amendment aims to reduce market risks, improve efficiency and align the EU with global practices. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) will monitor settlement efficiency during the transition and report more frequently around implementation, while the European Commission may adjust Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/389 if settlement fails increase. Exemptions include privately negotiated trades executed on trading venues, bilaterally executed trades reported to trading venues, initial book-entry recordings and documented securities financing transactions such as securities lending, buy-sell back or sell-buy back transactions and repurchase agreements.

The European Parliament voted 423-57 on 16 June 2026 to approve amendments to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) as part of the European Commission’s digital omnibus package. The amendments extend the compliance deadline to 2 December 2027 for stand-alone high-risk AI systems and to 2 August 2028 for AI systems embedded as safety-components and covered by EU sectoral safety and market surveillance legislation, while delaying watermarking obligations for AI-generated content until 2 December 2026. The legislation also bans AI tools that generate child sexual abuse material, as well as tools that create images, videos or audio depicting an identifiable person’s intimate parts or sexually explicit activities without consent. Providers may only place such systems on the EU market if they include adequate technical safeguards to prevent this material, and deployers are prohibited from using them for this purpose. Providers and deployers must comply by 2 December 2026. The Council must formally adopt the legislation before it enters into force. Most AI Act provisions will start to apply on 2 August 2026.

The European Parliament has adopted at first reading the text of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the EU Accounting Directive 2013/34/EU as regards the time limits for the adoption of sustainability reporting standards for certain sectors and for certain third-country undertakings.

The European Parliament has announced that MEPs had adopted amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2014/65/EU) (MiFID II) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (Regulation (EU) 600/2014) (MiFIR) in order to enhance financial market data transparency, optimise orderly trading and prohibit payments for forwarding client orders.

The European Parliament has adopted at first reading the legislative proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Bank Recovery and Resolution Directive 2014/59/EU (BRRD) as regards early intervention measures, conditions for resolution and financing of resolution action.

The European Parliament has adopted a legislative resolution approving the codification of the Regulation on European Union designs, advancing the reform under the ordinary legislative procedure in Strasbourg on 10 February 2026. The resolution (P10_TA(2026)0032), adopted in plenary under procedure 2025/0190(COD), concerns the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on European Union designs (COM(2025)0353 – C10-0140/2025).

The European Parliament has adopted new measures to strengthen protection for farmers against cross-border unfair trading practices, with 555 votes in favour, 0 against and 26 abstentions. The regulation enables member states to intervene automatically and stop cross-border unfair trading practices without requiring complaints from producers, replicating the protection regime for geographical indications. The measures extend protection to cover unfair practices by non-EU buyers, who must designate a contact person responsible for EU matters to facilitate investigations. National enforcement authorities will exchange information about unfair trading practices through the internal market information system to ensure coordinated responses. The regulation builds upon the 2019 Unfair Trading Practices Directive and addresses the fact that approximately 20% of agricultural and food products consumed in the EU originate from other member states. The measures require Council approval and will apply 18 months after publication in the EU Official Journal.

The European Parliament has adopted at first reading the legislative proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive 2014/49/EU (DGSD) as regards the scope of deposit protection, use of deposit guarantee schemes funds, cross-border co-operation, and transparency.

The European Parliament has adopted a package of laws targeting money-laundering and terrorist financing (ML/TF). The agreement also covers the creation of a new EU authority to fight money laundering, the Authority for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AMLA). The laws still need to be formally adopted by the Council of the EU before publication in the EU’s Official Journal.

The European Parliament has adopted its final position on targeted revisions to Directive 2008/98/EC (the EU Waste Framework Directive) on 9 September 2025, establishing binding EU-wide measures to reduce food and textile waste.