European Commission - Daily News Daily News 28 / 05 / 2026 Brussels, 28 May 2026 Commission takes action to ensure complete and timely transposition of EU directives The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures they have adopted to transpose EU directives into their national laws. The deadline to transpose these directives has expired ...
European Commission - Daily News Daily News 28 / 05 / 2026 Brussels, 28 May 2026 Commission takes action to ensure complete and timely transposition of EU directives The European Commission is taking action against several EU Member States that have failed to notify the Commission of measures they have adopted to transpose EU directives into their national laws. The deadline to transpose these directives has expired recently. The Commission is sending a letter of formal notice to these Member States, giving them two months to reply and complete the transposition of the directives. If they fail to do so, the Commission may pass to a next step and issue a reasoned opinion. The Commission is urging them to take immediate action to bring their laws in line with EU requirements. More information in our press release. (For more information: Arianna Podestà – Tel.: +32 2 298 70 24; Kristyna Eeckels – Tel.: +32 2 295 10 65) Commission fines Temu € 200 million for breaching the Digital Services Act Today, the European Commission issued a fine of € 200 million to Temu under the Digital Services Act (DSA) . The company failed to diligently identify, analyse, and assess the systemic risks of illegal products being offered on its platform and the resulting harm to consumers in the European Union. The evidence at the disposal of the Commission indicates that consumers in the EU are very likely to encounter illegal items on Temu. Under the DSA, designated Very Large Online Platforms are required to diligently assess systemic risks linked to their services and adopt corresponding mitigation measures. Henna Virkkunen , Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, said: “ Risk assessments are not box ‐ ticking exercises - they are the backbone of the DSA. Temu's risk assessment underestimates concrete risks, lacks specificity, is not grounded in solid evidence, and is not comprehensive. It leaves regulators, users, and the public in the dark about the true scale of potential harm posed by illegal products sold on Temu. Now it is time for Temu to comply with the law.” Find more information in our press release . (For more information: Thomas Regnier - Tel.: +32 2 299 10 99; Patricia Poropat - Tel.: +32 2 298 04 85) Commission advances €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan implementation, paving the way towards first disbursement in June This week, the Commission and Ukrainian Parliament have adopted the Ukraine Support Loan (USL) Agreement setting out reforms, detailed financial terms and operational arrangements for the facility and paving the way for its swift implementation. This went in hand with the adoption of the Memorandum of the Understanding underpinning the Macro-financial Assistance Programme for 2026 by both sides, also this week. These represent important steps towards the implementation of the EUR 90 billion USL, which will provide critical budgetary assistance and help accelerate urgent defence procurement for Ukraine in 2026 and 2027. Following the European Council's decision in December to provide Ukraine with such loan for 2026 and 2027, the Council adopted the USL Regulation on 23 April. The Loan will ensure that Ukraine can meet its urgent budgetary and defence needs, enabling the country to remain resilient in the face of ongoing Russian attacks. It covers two thirds of Ukraine's overall financing and defence needs for 2026 and 2027. Continued and coordinated financial and defence support from international partners therefore remains essential, including timely delivery on commitments by the G7 for 2026 and beyond. The signature by the Commission earlier this week and today's ratification by Ukraine of the Loan Agreement and the Memorandum of Understanding pave the way towards the first disbursements that are expected in June. (For more information: Guillaume Mercier — Tel.: +32 2 298 05 64; Balazs Ujvari — Tel.: +32 2 295 45 78; Yuliya Matsyk — Tel: +32 2 296 27 16) EU secures emergency deliveries of potential treatment against Hantavirus through EU- Japan cooperation The first doses of an experimental antiviral for Hantavirus treatment are being dispatched to France, Spain and the Netherlands to treat patients or run clinical trials. While there are currently no medicines or vaccines approved for Hantavirus treatment or prevention, the European Medicine Agency has identified Favipiravir as the most plausible candidate for use under clinical trial or compassionate use protocols. Its use will be decided by the Member States concerned. The 1,400 tablets of Favipiravir were made available to EU Member States following a donation from Fujifilm Pharmaceuticals in Japan, and thanks to a strong EU-Japan partnership on health emergency preparedness and response. The donation was facilitated by the Japanese authorities and the Delegation of the European Union to Japan. The Commission has been in continuous exchanges with Member States since the outbreak to assure swift access to potential medical countermeasures and have facilitated this dispatch of Favipriavir at the request of France, Spain, and the Netherlands. Commissioner Lahbib said: “ Solidarity and rapid action save lives. Thanks to close cooperation between the EU, Member States and our Japanese partners, we were able to rapidly secure access to potentially life-saving Hantavirus treatments for European patients. This shows the value of preparedness, cooperation and trusted global partnerships ”. In parallel, the Commission is launching emergency procurement procedures to ensure availability of additional doses in case further cases are confirmed in the coming weeks, thereby strengthening EU's preparedness. (For more information: Eva Hrnčířová – Tel.: +32 2 298 84 33; Quentin Cortès – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 35) Commission seeks views on tackling territorial supply constraints The European Commission has launched a public consultation to gather stakeholders and citizens' views on planned action to address territorial supply constraints. Territorial supply constraints are practices by certain large manufacturers that restrict retailers or wholesalers from purchasing goods in one Member State and reselling them in another. Such practices may limit consumer choice and contribute to significant price differences for everyday consumer goods across the EU. Territorial supply constraints in retail and wholesale were identified as one of the ‘Terrible Ten,' the most harmful barriers to the Single Market, in the Single Market Strategy adopted in May 2025. The Commission has committed to developing tools to address unjustified territorial supply constraints in cases falling outside the scope of competition law. The consultation invites retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers, public authorities, consumers, civil society organisations and academia to share their views and experiences via the Have your say portal. The contributions will feed into the on-going impact assessment and inform the proposed policy options. They will complement the input to the call for evidence gathered between 5 March and 24 April. The public consultation is initially published only in English and will remain open for contributions for a period of 12 weeks. Other language versions will follow. The 12-week consultation period will restart once all EU language versions become available. (For more information: Siobhan McGarry - Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Rüya Perincek - Tel.: +32 2 299 49 03) Commission seeks feedback on digital action plan for water sector The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to support the development of an EU-wide action plan on digitalisation in the water sector, including an initiative on smart metering for all. As announced in the Water Resilience Strategy , this action plan will unleash the benefits of digitalisation in water management and sustainable water use. By modernising water management through data-driven innovation, this plan will help increase water efficiency, protect the water cycle and ensure that clean, affordable water remains available. It will also contribute to improving water infrastructures and supporting the large-scale deployment of the Internet of Things , including smart sensors and meters, for better water management. As national leakage levels vary from 8% to 57%, smart metering can reduce water use by up to 25%, with digital systems saving an additional 5-8% and leak detection reducing consumption by a further 7-14%. Open until 24 June 2026, this call for evidence seeks to gather evidence and best practices on how technologies such as Artificial Intelligence can improve efficiency and infrastructure resilience, as well as the challenges that must be faced when implementing them, including regulatory bottlenecks which prevent scaling-up solutions across EU countries. You can find more information on this call for evidence online. (For more information: Anna-Kaisa Itkonen – Tel.: +32 2 295 75 01; Maëlys Dreux – Tel.: +32 2 295 46 73) Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme opens call for €593 million in doctoral programmes and research The European Commission has announced a new call for applications for Doctoral Networks under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). A total budget of €593 million will support over 130 doctoral programmes that feature cross-border, interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration, ultimately providing employment, training and skills development opportunities for more than 2000 doctoral researchers. Doctoral Networks implement doctoral programmes in all scientific fields through partnerships of organisations across Europe and beyond. The aim is to train highly skilled doctoral candidates and boost their employability in the long-term. A new element is introduced in this year's call through the RAISE Doctoral Networks for AI in Science , a pilot initiative under Horizon Europe. It provides additional funding opportunities for projects that integrate artificial intelligence into scientific research. The call for applications will be open until 24 November 2026, and potential applicants are encouraged to attend the dedicated online call information day on 3 June 2026 . More information is available on the MSCA website. (For more information: Eva Hrncirova - Tel.: +32 2 29 88433; Eirini Zarkadoula-Tel.: +32 2 29 57065) Commission urges Member States to make full use of cohesion policy and the Just Transition Fund to tackle the energy crisis Following the mid-term review of cohesion policy which led to the reallocation of funds towards the EU's strategic priorities, the European Commission has called on EU Member States and regions to step up the use of the available financial opportunities to support the communities and regions most affected by the energy crisis. In a letter sent today by Raffaele Fitto , Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, to the EU Ministers in charge of cohesion, the Commission explains that Member States can speed up the use of the Just Transition Fund wherever possible and necessary through various measures, including the creation of new financial instruments, financing not linked to costs and other programme adjustments. Member States and regions can also reallocate cohesion policy funds, such as the European Regional Development Fund , to energy-related investments. This includes measures to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and to strengthen energy market stability, in line with the AccelerateEU strategy. A letter will also be addressed to regions to explain that they can also use the cohesion resources for energy-related investments that deliver rapid impact, in line with national and regional priorities. The Mid-Term Review of Cohesion Policy already allowed for the reallocation of €34.6 billion funds towards energy security, competitiveness or defence, proving the policy's ability to respond to EU strategic priorities. Executive Vice-President for Cohesion and Reforms, Raffaele Fitto , said: "We are inviting Member States and Regions to undertake a reprogramming effort with a targeted focus on energy. The goal is clear: to rapidly redirect available cohesion resources — under the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, and the Just Transition Fund — towards investments that deliver immediate relief to families and businesses suffering from high energy prices”. The Just Transition Fund is one of the EU's cohesion policy funds for the 2021-2027 period. It supports the territories and people most affected by the transition towards climate neutrality to diversify their economies and avoid aggravating regional disparities. (For more information: Maciej Berestecki - Tel: +32 229-66483; Isabel Arriaga e Cunha – Tel: +32 229-52117) Commission opens in-depth foreign subsidies investigation into JD.com's proposed acquisition of CECONOMY The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess, under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation ('FSR'), the proposed acquisition by JD.com, Inc. (' JD.com ') of CECONOMY AG (' CECONOMY '). The Commission has preliminary concerns that JD.com may have been granted foreign subsidies that could distort the EU internal market. In particular, the Commission preliminarily identified concerns that the potential foreign subsidies have enabled JD.com to offer conditions that potentially distorted the negotiation process related to the acquisition of CECONOMY. The Commission also has preliminary concerns that the transaction could allow the merged entity to adopt investment and business strategies that could impact competitive conditions in the EU internal market. During its in-depth investigation, the Commission will assess in particular whether the potential foreign subsidies received by JD.com distorted the outcome of the acquisition process , and whether such potential foreign subsidies may improve the competitive position of the merged entity and lead to negative effects in the internal market, with respect to its activities after the transaction. A press release is available online. (For more information: Siobhan McGarry – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 2 299 47 74) Commission approves €15 million French State aid for agricultural and aquaculture companies facing increased fuel prices The European Commission has approved a €15 million French State aid scheme to support agricultural and aquaculture companies facing increased fuel prices due to the Middle East crisis. The scheme was approved under the Middle East Crisis Temporary State Aid Framework (METSAF) adopted by the Commission on 29 April 2026 . The aid will take the form of direct grants based on the volume of fuel purchased. The aid will cover up to 70% of the additional costs resulting from the Middle East crisis. The scheme will run until 31 December 2026. The Commission assessed the scheme under EU State aid rules, in particular Article 107(3)(c) of the TFEU, which enables Member States to support the development of certain economic activities subject to certain conditions, as well as Sections 1 and 2.1 of the METSAF. The Commission concluded that the scheme is necessary , appropriate and proportionate to facilitate the development of an economic activity and does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent contrary to the common interest. A press release is available online. (For more information: Siobhan McGarry – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Luuk de Klein – Tel.: +32 2 299 47 74) Commission clears acquisition of ROFA by SPIE DACH The European Commission has approved, under the EU Merger Regulation, the acquisition of sole control of ROFA Industrial Automation AG (‘ROFA') by SPIE Germany Switzerland Austria GmbH (‘SPIE DACH'), both of Germany. The transaction relates primarily to industrial automation solutions and engineering services. The Commission concluded that the notified transaction would not raise competition concerns, given the companies' limited combined market position resulting from the proposed transaction. The notified transaction was examined under the simplified merger review procedure. More information is available on the Commission's competition website , in the public case register under the case number M.12383 . (For more information: Siobhan McGarry – Tel.: +32 2 296 47 98; Paula Clara Ritter-Moschütz – Tel.: +32 2 296 40 83) Tentative agendas for forthcoming Commission meetings Note that these items can be subject to changes. Upcoming events of the European Commission Eurostat press releases Calendar items of the President and Commissioners Individual calendars of the President and Commissioners MEX/26/1182
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