News

Dec 5, 2025

Implementation of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Germany

On 17 November 2025, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) presented the draft bill for the new Packaging Law Implementation Act (VerpackDG-E). The current Packaging Act (VerpackG) is to be adjusted to align with the requirements of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2025/40, PPWR), which will apply from 12 August 2026. This article provides an overview of the background and key changes in packaging legislation.

Nov 14, 2025

Fifth EU Annual Report on Foreign Direct Investment

On October 14, 2025, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published its fifth annual report on the screening of foreign direct investments in the Union. In it, it describes the latest developments in the area of foreign direct investments (“FDIs”) in the EU, as well as legislative developments at the member state and European level and other trends in FDI screening.

Oct 31, 2025

Customs Law: ECJ clarifies ex officio reimbursement

In its judgment C-206/24 of 1 August 2025, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled on the conditions under which a customs authority is obliged to reimburse import duties levied without legal basis ex officio. The ECJ clarified: Ex officio reimbursement requires that the customs authority itself determines within three years of the entry in the accounts that the duties were levied without legal basis – and that it also knows the identity of the affected person and the reimbursement amount. If this information is missing, the authority must take reasonable, but not disproportionate, measures to obtain it. If unsuccessful, the obligation to reimburse terminates after the deadline – even if the authority determined within the deadline that the duties were not legally owed.

Oct 29, 2025

The 19th Sanctions Package against Russia

On October 23, 2025, the European Union (EU) adopted its 19th package of sanctions against Russia. The new package targets the energy and financial sectors in particular. At the same time, however, export and service bans were tightened and personal restrictions expanded.

Oct 23, 2025

EU Commission proposes changes to EUDR

Following the EU’s Environment Council on 21 October 2025, EU Commissioner Jessika Roswall announced a targeted simplification package for the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).Following her announcement, the Commission published a formal proposal to change the EUDR, including the introduction of a new Annex III (link). Although the Commission proposes substantive changes to the EUDR, the date of application of the EUDR remains unchanged under the proposal. The Commission only introduced a six-month delay for small and micro enterprises for 30 December 2026 (instead of 30 June 2026).Substantive changes concern in particular so-called “downstream operators” and “micro and small primary operators”.

Oct 2, 2025

The snapback mechanism against Iran – reintroduction of EU sanctions

On the night of 28 September 2025, the deadline for the so-called “snapback mechanism”, initiated by Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, expired. As a result, the sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on Iran – which had been suspended since January 2016 – are once again in force. The possibility of reimposing sanctions was legally established under international law as part of the Vienna Agreement on Iran’s nuclear program (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, JCPoA) in 2015. The EU responded immediately and implemented the UN sanctions into directly applicable EU law through Regulation (EU) 2025/1975 and Implementing Regulations (EU) 2025/1980 and 2025/1982.

Implementation of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) in Germany

Fifth EU Annual Report on Foreign Direct Investment

Customs Law: ECJ clarifies ex officio reimbursement

The 19th Sanctions Package against Russia

EU Commission proposes changes to EUDR

The snapback mechanism against Iran – reintroduction of EU sanctions

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