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In March 2023, the European Commission proposed a directive on promoting the repair of goods, seeking to mitigate current linear business and consumption patterns, marked by frequent and premature replacement and discarding of goods. The provisional political agreement reached in February 2024 by the Parliament and Council is scheduled for a vote during the April II plenary session.

In September 2022, the Commission proposed a regulation to ban products made using forced labour from the EU internal market. Alongside national authorities, it will investigate suspicious products posing a higher and more impactful risk of forced labour. Those found to be made with forced labour will be withdrawn from the market. After reaching a provisional agreement on the text with the Council in March 2024, Parliament is due to vote on it during the April II plenary session.

To ensure affordable, secure instant payments in euro that conform to rules on sanctions and financial crime, the European Commission proposed a regulation in October 2022. The new rules would mean citizens and businesses would pay standard transfer prices for instant money transfers. A provisional political agreement reached between the Parliament and Council is scheduled for vote during the February I plenary session.

Hydrogen has an important role in helping the EU achieve its target of climate neutrality by 2050. In March 2023, the Commission announced the European hydrogen bank, to facilitate investment in the hydrogen value chain. This initiative aims to support production and imports of hydrogen in the EU. In November, the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy adopted an own-initiative report, suggesting key improvements. The text is due to be voted by the Parliament during the December plenary session ...

On 14 September 2022, the Commission proposed a regulation to ban products made using forced labour, including child labour, on the European Union (EU) internal market. The proposal covers all products made available on the EU market, whether made in the EU for domestic consumption and for export, or imported. It covers products of any type, including their components, from all sectors and industries. EU Member States would be in charge of enforcing its provisions, and their national authorities ...

On 30 March 2023, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive on common rules promoting the repair of goods. The proposed directive aims to mitigate current patterns of business and consumption, marked by frequent and premature replacement and discarding of goods. The proposal seeks to save costs for consumers and facilitate the development of a resource-efficient circular economy. The proposed directive would apply to the repair of goods within and outside the legal guarantee. In ...

In March 2023, the European Commission proposed a directive on promoting the repair of goods, which seeks to mitigate current business and consumption patterns marked by frequent and premature replacement and discarding of goods. In October 2023, the European Parliament's Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) adopted its report, aimed at strengthening the repair market. The report is due to be debated in plenary in November, with a view to setting Parliament's position for ...

Companies can play a key role in building a sustainable economy and society. At the same time, their global value chains can pose risks to human rights and the environment. A growing number of EU companies have taken initiatives to deploy due diligence processes, often using existing voluntary international standards on responsible business conduct. Some Member States have meanwhile started developing their own legal frameworks on corporate due diligence. In a legislative-initiative resolution adopted ...

To support climate and environmental projects, the European Commission proposed a regulation on a European green bond standard in July 2021. This would establish an official EU standard for green bonds aligned with the EU taxonomy, based on a registration system and supervisory framework for external reviewers. A provisional political agreement reached between the Parliament and Council is scheduled for a vote during the October I plenary session.

Platform work is on the rise, with hundreds of digital platforms active in the EU and millions of workers earning some income by working for them. A proposed EU directive seeks to set criteria to determine whether platform workers are self-employed or employees, which is key for improving their working conditions and social rights. In addition, it would set the first EU rules on the use of artificial intelligence in the workplace. With their positions agreed, the European Parliament and the Council ...