The European Commission has published two guidance documents on the application of Articles 25 and 26 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1735 (Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA)). Article 25 requires contracting authorities to incorporate minimum environmental sustainability and resilience criteria in public procurement processes for net-zero technologies. Article 26 mandates that EU Member States use non-price criteria—including responsible business conduct, cybersecurity, data security, and delivery capacity—in renewable energy auctions, both for pre-qualification and award decisions. These requirements have been in force since 30 December 2025. The guidance documents also reference the implementing regulations (EU) 2025/1176, 2025/1178 and 2026/178.

This week's edition of Energy weekly highlights includes: the launch of several consultations from Ofgem and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) covering consumer regulation, cybersecurity assessment and gas and electricity supply licence conditions. Both organisations have also published responses to previous consultations on the Energy Ombudsman (EO), demand connections reform, minimum energy efficiency standards (MEES) and noise pollution from wind turbines. In addition this week, the Welsh Government has published new guidance on assessing the suitability of ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) and other geothermal technologies for public sector managers.

The European Union Agency for Cybersecurity (ENISA) has introduced a dedicated page featuring a collection of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the EU Cyber Resilience Act’s Single Reporting Platform (SRP). The FAQs explain, amongst other thing, what the SRP is, who is responsible for it, what must be reported, how the platform operates and the responsibilities of the key entities involved, supporting transparency and implementation of mandatory and voluntary reporting within the EU Digital Single Market. ENISA intends to update FAQ page as the SRP implementation progresses.

The Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has published a blog emphasising the importance of digital resilience for pension schemes, noting that schemes rely on interconnected technology systems and hold significant volumes of sensitive personal and financial data. GAD states that the Pensions Regulator has placed digital resilience high on the agenda and is urging schemes to modernise data management, strengthen digital defences and take operational resilience seriously as part of scheme governance. The blog identifies practical steps for schemes, including strengthening cybersecurity controls, preparing incident response and disaster recovery plans, carrying out due diligence on suppliers, training staff and testing continuity arrangements using real-world scenarios.

The International Medical Device Regulators Forum (IMDRF) has opened a public consultation on a draft technical framework for artificial intelligence life cycle management in medical devices, running from 10 April 2026 to 10 July 2026. The framework builds on IMDRF’s 2025 Good Machine Learning Practice principles and provides internationally harmonised concepts covering the full life cycle from planning and design to decommissioning. It addresses universal concepts including quality management, risk management, human oversight and cybersecurity, alongside considerations for data collection, model building, verification and validation, deployment and monitoring.

The Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU has published its programme for 1 January  - 30 June 2025, outlining its priorities and direction under the presidency's focus on strengthening European security. The presidency aims to promote EU enlargement, bolster defence and energy security, advance migration and asylum reforms, and support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression. Legislative efforts will focus on digital transformation, green energy, health resilience, and labour rights. Additionally, the presidency seeks to reduce regulatory burdens, enhance competitiveness, and foster global cooperation in trade, cybersecurity, and industrial policy. Full details are available in the programme document and more details can be found below.

This week's edition of Risk & Compliance weekly highlights includes the ICO’s final guidance on storage and access technologies, which clarifies rules on cookies and tracking, the EU adopting an Anti-Corruption Directive and the latest UK Cyber Security Breaches Survey.

His Majesty, King Charles III, has set out the government’s priorities and proposed policies for the new parliamentary session at the State Opening of Parliament, which took place on 17 July 2024. Key themes for Commercial include the introduction of the Product Safety and Metrology Bill, the Digital Information and Smart Data Bill, the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and the Arbitration Bill. Sarah-Jane Dobson, partner, Rhiannon Webster, partner and head of UK data privacy and cybersecurity, both at Ashurst, and Rosie Burbidge, IP Lawyer at Gunnercooke, comment on the King’s Speech 2024.

The American Arbitration Association (AAA) has aunched a Web3 Panel of specialist arbitrators to resolve disputes involving blockchain, smart contracts, digital assets, tokenisation, decentralised systems, agentic commerce and autonomous transactions. The panel will address disputes concerning contract formation and interpretation, governance, asset control, cybersecurity, transaction records and cross-border enforcement. The AAA noted that the panel responds to the increasing integration of blockchain, digital assets and autonomous systems into commercial activity and will continue to expand as new technologies, business models and dispute types emerge. The initiative forms part of the AAA’s broader dispute resolution framework for emerging technologies and artificial intelligence-enabled commerce.

This week's edition of Life Sciences weekly highlights includes analysis of the Supreme Court’s decision in Emotional Perception AI Ltd v Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, in which the court held that an artificial neural network system is not excluded from patentability as a ‘program for a computer…as such’, aligning UK law more closely with European Patent Office jurisprudence. Also included, is news that the DHSC has opened a consultation on changes to the statutory scheme for branded medicines pricing to align with the voluntary scheme, DHSC also released its finding and recommendations on the operation of the Medicines and Medical Devices Act 2021 in its five-year report and it has also opened a consultation on proposed amendments to strengthen medicines reimbursement, supply oversight and compliance further to its 2025 annual review of the Health Service Products 2018 regulations. Further developments include NICE launching the National HealthTech Access Programme, MHRA updating its pharmacovigilance requirements for UK authorised products further to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 520/2012 (CIR 520/2012), the Notified Bodies industry publishing a letter addressing proposed cybersecurity amendments to the medical devices regulations, the adoption of the international standards ICH M15 guideline for model-informed drug development, the EMA launching a consultation on making Annex 15 GMP qualification and validation guidelines mandatory, and the EFPIA published proposals to strengthen EU pharmaceutical competitiveness, among other stories.

The United Nation (UN) has adopted the Pact for the Future along with its annex, the Global Digital Compact, which is a first global agreement on international regulation of AI. The Global Digital Compact works toward the UN's commitments, which include ensuring digital technologies support sustainable development and human rights, and focuses on risks such as digital divides, cybersecurity and misuse of technology. It also seeks to promote responsible use of AI, encourage global co-operation on AI capabilities and security threats, and commits governments to form an impartial Scientific Panel on AI.

This week's edition of Life Sciences weekly highlights includes news that EFPIA has set out industry priorities for a proposed EU Action Plan on Rare Diseases, the European Commission has published a roadmap to phase out animal testing in chemical safety assessments, the HRA has published its 2026–28 plan to support the safe use of AI in health and social care research, and the EMA, Commission and Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) have published a revised ACT EU workplan for 2026–27 to strengthen the EU clinical research environment. Also included is news that the Commission has announced that four EUDAMED modules become mandatory under the MDR and IVDR, MedTech Europe has responded to the Commission’s consultation on the revision of the EU Cybersecurity Act, and the MHRA has launched a consultation on a proposed standard for digital mental health technologies, as well as news that the European Commission has launched a stakeholder survey on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare and pharmaceuticals, among other stories.