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The EU has the world's largest carbon-pricing system, the emissions trading system (ETS). Emissions pricing can encourage industrial decarbonisation, but it also risks carbon leakage, whereby EU companies move their production abroad. To date, the EU has mitigated this risk through free allocations to certain industries, but with rising climate ambition and higher carbon prices, the Commission is now seeking to phase out free allocations. A new carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) would also ...

On 14 July 2021, the European Commission presented a package of proposals to equip the EU's climate, energy, land use, transport and taxation policies to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 % by 2030, compared with 1990 levels – the 'fit for 55' package. The package includes a proposal to revise the 2014 directive on alternative fuels infrastructure and turn it into a regulation. In the draft regulation, the Commission proposes binding targets for electric vehicle charging points and ...

Public financing of enterprises, which has been on the rise globally, can have a distortive effect on competitive markets. In response to this trend, in May 2021 the European Commission published a proposal for a regulation to tackle foreign subsidies with a distortive effect on the EU single market. It would enable the Commission to investigate subsidies granted by non-EU public authorities to companies operating on the single market, and to apply countervailing measures, should these subsidies ...

The current Machinery Directive (Directive 2006/42/EC) was designed to allow the free movement of machinery within the internal market, while ensuring a high level of user health and safety. To reduce the occurrence of accidents, it promotes the inherently safe design and construction of machinery, and proper installation and maintenance. On 21 April 2021, the Commission put forward a proposal for a regulation on machinery products, as part of a wider 'artificial intelligence package'. The need for ...

In July 2021, the European Commission put forward the 'fit for 55' package of legislative proposals, aimed at ensuring the success of the European Green Deal. The FuelEU Maritime regulation is one of these proposals and, together with four other proposals, it seeks to steer the EU maritime sector towards decarbonisation. To support the uptake of sustainable maritime fuels, the Commission proposes to limit the carbon intensity of the energy used on board ships. Accordingly, the proposal sets a fuel ...

The European Commission proposed a revision of Directive 2008/99/EC on the protection of the environment through criminal law in December 2021. The proposal intends to clarify some of the terms contained in the directive and includes an updated list of environmental crime offences, harmonised sanction types and levels, measures to strengthen international investigation and prosecution, improvements to the collection of statistical data and measures to improve national enforcement chains. Ultimately ...

On 11 March, Europe honours all those who have lost their lives or loved ones to terror. The European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism was inaugurated after the 2004 Madrid bombings. Protection of victims of terrorism is an essential part of the EU's efforts to address all dimensions of the terrorist threat. In response to the wave of attacks that has hit Europe in recent years, rules and sanctions related to terrorist activities have been strengthened. Ongoing action at EU level, meanwhile ...

On 8 March 2023, the European Commission is set to adopt an update of its first EU maritime security strategy from 2014. The EU is a one-of-a-kind maritime actor, a fact that brings both opportunities and responsibilities. It has been argued that, if the EU-27 were to combine the capacities and capabilities of their navies, they would form one of the world's largest maritime powers. There is therefore space for better integration of capabilities and greater coherence among the EU's tools to promote ...

As part of the 'Fit for 55' package, the Commission proposed a revision to the EU's emissions trading system (ETS) as regards carbon dioxide emissions from aviation. The proposal seeks to ensure that the sector contributes to the EU's climate targets through increased auctioning of allowances, with an end to free allowances from 2027, and by applying the linear reduction of aviation allowances. The proposal would also integrate, into the revised ETS, the International Civil Aviation Organization's ...

The EU's fisheries control system, which aims to ensure compliance with the common fisheries policy (CFP), is undergoing a complete overhaul. In May 2018, the Commission proposed to update the system in light of the 2013 CFP reform. The Commission proposal amends five regulations, of which Council Regulation (EC) 1224/2009 (the Control Regulation), forms the core of the EU fisheries control system. Some of the key changes introduced by the proposal include tracking of all fishing vessels, electronic ...