Assistant lawyers Paulina Patašiūtė and Erlandas Prakapavičius, and Merylin Tihomirova compiled the material.
Data protection / TMT
Digital Omnibus on AI adopted
Adopted: 8 July 2026
The European Parliament and the Council adopted the Digital Omnibus on AI, introducing targeted amendments to the AI Act aimed at simplifying its implementation while maintaining a high level of protection for health, safety and fundamental rights. The Regulation postpones the application of the AI Act’s rules on high-risk AI systems until 2 December 2027 for stand-alone systems and 2 August 2028 for AI systems embedded in products.
The Regulation also extends several simplification measures to small mid-cap enterprises, strengthens the powers of the AI Office, introduces a prohibition on AI systems generating non-consensual intimate content and child sexual abuse material, and clarifies the rules on processing special categories of personal data for bias detection and correction. It further streamlines the interaction between the AI Act and sectoral legislation, including the Machinery Regulation.
Commission fines Google €890 million for breaches of the Digital Markets Act
Announced: 23 July 2026
The European Commission adopted two non-compliance decisions against Google under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), imposing fines totalling €890 million. The Commission found that Google unlawfully favoured its own services, including shopping, hotels, transport and sports results, over competing services in Google Search, and restricted app developers from directing users to alternative purchasing channels outside Google Play.
The Commission concluded that Google’s self-preferencing practices breached the DMA obligation to apply fair and non-discriminatory ranking conditions, while its anti-steering measures prevented app developers from freely promoting alternative offers and concluding contracts with users outside the Google Play Store. Google has been ordered to bring the infringements to an end within 60 days or face periodic penalty payments of up to 5% of its worldwide daily turnover.
The Commission noted that Google has already begun testing changes to Google Search and Google Play following discussions with the Commission, and will continue monitoring whether those measures ensure full compliance with the DMA.
See also: press release.
Commission fines AliExpress €550 million for breaching the Digital Services Act
Announced: 20 July 2026
The European Commission fined AliExpress €550 million for breaching its obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA) to assess and mitigate systemic risks relating to the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its online marketplace. The Commission found that AliExpress failed to conduct adequate risk assessments and implement effective measures to prevent the dissemination of such products.
According to the Commission, AliExpress underestimated the resources required for content moderation, failed to properly assess the risks posed by its recommender and advertising systems, and relied on inadequate metrics to measure the effectiveness of its moderation efforts. The Commission also found shortcomings in the platform’s enforcement against traders selling illegal products, product categorisation controls and mechanisms intended to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods.
AliExpress has been ordered to submit an action plan by 20 October 2026 setting out the measures it will take to comply with the DSA. Failure to comply with the Commission’s decision may result in periodic penalty payments.
See also: press release.
Commission adopts implementing rules for AI Act enforcement proceedings
Adopted: 20 July 2026
The European Commission adopted an implementing regulation laying down detailed procedural rules for the enforcement of the AI Act in relation to general-purpose AI models. The Regulation establishes the framework for Commission evaluations of such models, including access to models through APIs, source code and other technical means where necessary, as well as rules governing the appointment of independent experts.
The Regulation also sets out procedural safeguards for AI Act enforcement proceedings, including rules on the opening and closing of investigations, providers’ rights of defence, access to the case file, protection of confidential information and limitation periods for the imposition and enforcement of fines. It aims to provide greater legal certainty and ensure consistent enforcement of the AI Act across the EU.
Banking and finance
Commission updates market abuse rules through delegated regulation
Adopted: 8 April 2026
The European Commission adopted a delegated regulation amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/522 under the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). The amendments update the rules on trading during closed periods, designate trading venues with a significant cross-border dimension for the supervision of market abuse, and revise the indicators used to identify market manipulation.
The Regulation extends the exemption allowing persons discharging managerial responsibilities to trade during closed periods to financial instruments other than shares, reflecting recent amendments to the MAR. It also designates four trading venues with a significant cross-border dimension to facilitate cross-border exchange of order data between competent authorities and updates the indicators of market manipulation to reflect evolving trading practices, including algorithmic trading and cross-venue manipulation.
Commission updates MiFID II best execution rules for investment firms
Adopted: 14 April 2026
The European Commission adopted a delegated regulation supplementing MiFID II with updated regulatory technical standards on the order execution policies of investment firms. The Regulation specifies the criteria for selecting and assessing execution venues to ensure that firms consistently achieve the best possible outcome for clients when executing orders. It also repeals the existing technical standards on execution quality reporting and execution venue disclosures.
The Regulation introduces more detailed requirements on the content, monitoring and periodic review of firms’ order execution policies, including the use of reference data, assessment of execution quality, governance arrangements and the treatment of client instructions. It also requires firms to regularly review whether their selected execution venues continue to deliver the best possible execution for clients and updates the classification of financial instruments for these purposes. The new rules will apply from 12 February 2028.
