EUImpact · 40 files

EU law, in human terms.

What applies, who it hits, and what to do about it — from the Official Journal to the company desk.

Civics

Commission proposes. Parliament and Council amend. The Journal binds.

Who the institutions are, how ordinary legislative procedure actually finishes, and why a directive still needs a national gazette.

How the EU works

European Parliament at Place du Luxembourg, Brussels, at dusk — European Parliament · Place du Luxembourg, Brussels

Next deadline · in 10 days · 27 Sept 2026

Coming into play

Green-transition consumer rules

Directive (EU) 2024/825

Vague green badges, fake durability scores and offset-only ‘climate neutral’ claims become unfair commercial practices — before a later, still-fought Green Claims Directive adds extra files.

Open the briefing

How it rolls in

Mar 2024
Directive adopted.
27 Mar 2026
Transposition deadline.
27 Sep 2026
Apply.

Today in Brussels

News and the diary

EU News

Council · 17 Sept 2026, 20:42

Speech by the Eurogroup President, Kyriakos Pierrakakis, at the Eurofi Financial Forum, Dublin

Next events

Still in talks

EU Preview

What’s next, and who it hits

Coming into force, still in trilogue, and the sittings that can move a file. People and companies, on the same card.

Open EU Preview

Most high-risk rules apply from August 2026

AI Act — high-risk systems

People

If a bank, hospital, school or employer uses AI on you, they should be able to explain the system and keep a human responsible. Chatbots and deepfakes should already be labelled.

Business

Inventory, classify, and demand technical files from vendors. High-risk deployers and providers face documentation, logging, and human-oversight duties. Fines can reach a share of worldwide turnover.

Member states must apply it from June 2026

Pay Transparency Directive

People

You should see a pay range in job ads, and you can ask how your pay compares with colleagues doing the same work. Retaliation for asking is the thing the directive tries to kill.

Business

Job ads, pay structures, and gender-gap reporting. Large employers need a mapping of comparable work. Late national law is not a strategy — staff will still ask.

Reporting is live; certificates start in 2026

CBAM — paying for carbon at the border

People

You do not file CBAM. You may see it in the price of a car, a can, or a building, if the levy sticks and is not eaten by the importer.

Business

If you import the listed goods, you need emissions data from non-EU plants and a plan to buy certificates. Authorised CBAM declarant status is an operations problem, not a CSR slide.

The dossier

40 regulations and directives, grouped by the part of life they actually touch. Search in the header if you already have a name.

40 files

Digital & AI

Platforms, data, and machine systems.

Climate & nature

Carbon, products, land, and energy.

Money & markets

Trade, reporting, and competition.

Work & pay

Jobs, wages, and workplace rules.

Everyday life

What you buy, eat, and throw away.

Security

Cyber, borders, and critical systems.